Software giant Microsoft will apparently be hit with a hefty fine by European Union (EU) anti-trust regulators on Wednesday, for breaking the promise which it made with the regulators to end an anti-trust investigation into the company's controversial practice of denying a choice of Internet browsers to the users of its Windows software.

On Monday, Danish Radio DR, citing unidentified sources, reported that Denmark is demanding US$1 billion in back taxes from software giant Microsoft; with investigations underway in the country to ascertain whether Microsoft used certain techniques to save itself billions in taxes.

After a series of cyberattacks having recently affected bigwig tech companies like Apple and Facebook, a late Friday statement by Microsoft has revealed that the company's computers had also been hacked in the same way as the other attacks.

According to an IGN report, the online services of software giant Microsoft have apparently been hit all across the world; with several Xbox Live and Windows Azure users having been affected by extended outages.

Microsoft released its February 2013 `Patch Tuesday' updates on February 12, issuing 12 security bulletins - five of them rated as `critical' - that addressed as many as 57 vulnerabilities in the company's Windows, Office, Internet Explorer (IE), Exchange Server and the .NET Framework.

According to a recent revelation by Nancy Tellem, Corporate VP of Microsoft LA Studios, Microsoft has staffed up a production studio in Santa Monica, California, with nearly 150 employees who are working to develop original content for the company's popular Xbox 360 gaming console.

With the newly-launched Surface Pro tablet from Microsoft having apparently sold out at a few retailers, there are diverse reports about whether the stock shortages being reported for the tablet have resulted from overwhelming demand or Microsoft's strategic release of a limited number of units in the stores.

In connection with the Australian Federal Parliamentary Committee's digital prices inquiry that has been running since July 2012, Apple, Adobe and Microsoft have been summonsed to appear before the investigation, which chiefly pertains to the high costs which Australian consumers have to pay for digital music, software, games and hardware.