Throughout the trial Microsoft has claimed that computer innovation would be stifled if it was broken up.

Only this week Steve Ballmer, Microsoft chief executive, said that the pace of innovation in the computer industry would be slowed if the break-up went ahead.

He made his comments to representatives of the Norwegian computer industry during a European tour.

The trip was cut short when it was announced that the ruling in the case would be made on Wednesday.

Microsoft is the Borg of the high tech industry

Ed Black, President CACIA

But the history of the PC shows that very few innovations originated within Microsoft.

All the software giant has done is roll them into its operating systems and drive their popularity - often to the detriment of the companies that did invent them.

"We're convinced that innovation will be greatly enhanced and improved if Microsoft's heavy hand of monopoly is removed from the industry," said Ed Black, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA).

The CCIA is a 26-year-old group representing companies such as Oracle and Sun Microsystems - some of Microsoft's largest opponents.

"Microsoft is the Borg of the high-tech industry," said Mr Black referring to the rapacious race from Star Trek that tries to assimilate every culture it encounters. The history of computers shows that it has cherry picked technologies that have proved popular.

Mr Black said that in all the areas where Microsoft is not dominant, such as the internet, innovation is rampant.

The most popular program for web servers is called Apache and is available for free. It is maintained and developed by a community of users on the internet.

He added that many venture capitalists only advance funds to new companies if the technology being developed will not impinge on the Microsoft empire.

Microsoft has rolled together technologies from many different sources to bolster the position of Windows.

Inovations Microsoft has adopted