Microsoft has filed legal papers in the Netherlands requesting fines of 100,000 euros (US$122,230) per day against Lindows for allowing users within that country to access its Internet site

Lindows says Microsoft's demand that Lindows block access to its Web site by users in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg is unreasonable. Lindows says it already has withdrawn its products from the Benelux countries. "Since visitors to our Web site come from international ISPs, proxy servers, anonymizers and other methods," said Michael Robertson, chief executive officer of Lindows, "it is impossible for us to comply with such a broad order to block all visitors from Benelux, and Microsoft knows this." Microsoft's sacred cow is its desktop Windows product, which is loaded on more than 90 percent of the world's PCs. Microsoft CEO Bill Gates said last year that the major competition for Windows software is previous versions of Windows. But if Linux establishes a beachhead, there is no telling how much it could erode the dominance of Windows. Legal experts have taken notice of Microsoft's setback in a Washington state court last year. Microsoft had requested an injunction against Lindows from using its name on software. But, after reviewing evidence brought by Lindows, the judge in the case ruled there was sufficient reason to question Microsoft's right to use "windows" exclusively.