"Government lawyers on Friday urged a federal appeals
court to reject Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ:MSFT)
request to delay the company's antitrust case, saying a stay of
proceedings would slow efforts to assure competition in the
software industry.
The U.S. Justice Department and 18 states suing Microsoft argued
that the case should proceed as quickly as possible and dismissed
the idea that it should go on hold while the company appeals to the
U.S. Supreme Court.
The government brief also noted the upcoming release of
Microsoft's new Windows XP operating system, which some critics say
will freeze out competitors in the software business."
