The European Commission said on Wednesday that it would use ad hoc technical consultants instead of a monitoring trustee to ensure software giant Microsoft complied with a 2004 antitrust decision.

The Commission, which polices competition in the 27-nation bloc, has fined Microsoft 1.68 billion euros ($2.13 billion) related to antitrust decisions.

The Commission no longer requires a full-time monitoring trustee to assess Microsoft's compliance, the executive body said in a statement, citing changes in Microsoft's behavior, more opportunities for third parties to exercise their rights in national courts and experience gained since 2004.

It said it would rely on the ad hoc advice of technical consultants in future.

The Commission in January accused Microsoft of stymieing competition by bundling its Internet Explorer web browser with Windows systems. It gave the company eight weeks to reply to the charges.

($1=.7906 euro)

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, editing by Dale Hudson)

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