In its most detailed response to date to the monopoly allegations, the software company's lawyers submitted an 88-page motion for a summary dismissal to the US District Court in Washington DC on Monday.

Microsoft's main argument rested on the recent Appeals Court decision which upheld the corporation's strategy of developing computer operating systems that worked well with the Internet.

Neukom: The government will fail to prove its case against Microsoft

"When you step back from all the heated rhetoric and apply well-established legal principles to the actual facts of the case, it is clear that the government will not be able to prove its case," said William Neukom, the firm's Senior Vice President for Law and Corporate Affairs.

"Microsoft's integration of Internet technologies into the operating system has been good for consumers and good for thousands of independent software companies.

"Microsoft and Netscape have been competing vigorously, developing improved software and distributing it widely to customers. The anti-trust laws encourage such competition, which benefits consumers."

Microsoft said three fundamental facts undermined the US Government's case:

• Its Internet Explorer browser is an integrated part of the Windows operating system.

• This is of clear benefit to consumers and software developers

• Nothing has stopped Netscape from distributing its own Web browser to consumers in vast quantities.

Microsoft repeated its assertion that it had been building web browsing functionality into Windows since the early 1990s, and again stressed that companies such as Sun, Novell and IBM had been doing the same thing with their operating systems.

It said that Netscape's browser was one of the most widely-distributed software products in history. Its management had stated publicly it planned to distribute more than 100 million copies this year alone.

The government argues that Microsoft has been unfairly using its advantage, of having more than 90 per cent of the world's PCs running Windows, to squeeze Netscape out and dominate access to the World Wide Web.

Microsoft also filed a 33-page response to the government's arguments, in a preliminary injunction, that it should ship Netscape's browser with Windows 98 or remove its own Internet Explorer from the operating system.

Mr Neukom said this would not be in the best interests of consumers.

Gates: Faces questioning by Department of Justice lawyers

On Wednesday Bill Gates, Microsoft's chief executive, is due to be questioned for at least two days by Department of Justice lawyers as they gather their evidence in preparation for the full case hearing, which starts on 8 September.