etscape Communications Corporation has issued the following statement on the lawsuits filed today by the Justice Department, State Attorneys General and the District of Columbia regarding Microsoft:

Netscape applauds the U.S. Department of Justice, the State Attorneys General and the District of Columbia for today taking action which marks the initial step in loosening the chokehold the Microsoft monopoly has on the computer industry. This initial step will begin to enable consumers to have a fair choice of products that can compete in the marketplace on their own merits. We believe government investigators have examined the case thoroughly and would not have brought action against Microsoft unless their investigations had uncovered serious violations of the law.

The governments' case against Microsoft seeks to return choice of what is available on the PC desktop to both consumers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). This is vital. Given its pervasiveness and role in our lives, the personal computer simply has to be a flexible tool, one that can be adapted to a wide variety of personal uses and preferences. If we all are required to use the same software, meaning the software selected for us by Microsoft, the tool will become ever more a blunt, dull, and oppressive instrument, and consumers will lose a basic right -- the right to exercise choice of goods and services -- that has always been fundamental to American commerce.

For the OEMs, this case can mean the return to a time when they had more control over their own products. The hardware industry is highly competitive, and this case will offer the OEMs new opportunities to innovate and compete. Most importantly, for consumers, this case will mean protection of their right to choose what they want to use on and access from their computers. For software developers, this case will mean a renewed incentive to innovate, without worry that their innovations will either be coopted or destroyed by Microsoft. For Microsoft, this case can mean a return to a time of competing on the merits, indeed on the basis of their innovations, rather than on the basis of their monopoly power and leverage.

As for Netscape, we may never know how the company would have developed in the absence of the kinds of anti-competitive behavior that formed the basis of the governments' case. The fact that Netscape has reengineered its business model to accommodate diminishing browser revenue is a tribute to our market leading products and creative, innovative workforce. Today, nearly all of the Fortune 500 companies are using Netscape products. In parallel, we are quickly adding consumer online services necessary in developing a first-class web portal, called Netscape Netcenter, that we foresee as a major online destination for consumers and business users.

We believe the governments' action today will help level the playing field in the software industry, spur innovation and bring a wide array of new choices to American consumers. We look forward to competing in an open and competitive marketplace where consumers can more effectively exercise their right to select products on their merit.