Microsoft rounded on the US government yesterday and condemned it for seeking to "demonise" Mr Bill Gates, the software company's founder and chief executive.
Defending a landmark antitrust lawsuit, now in its second day, the company also turned on its rival, Netscape Communications, accusing the internet software pioneer of acting as an abusive monopoly itself.
Opening its defence, Microsoft attacked the suggestion by government lawyers that Mr Gates had misrepresented under oath his aggressive campaign against Netscape.
Mr John Warden, Microsoft's lead attorney, said: "The effort to demonise Bill Gates in the opening statements is emblematic of this approach which wrongly characterises evidence of tough competition as proof of anti-competitive conduct.
"The antitrust laws are not a code of civility in business, and a personal attack on a man is no substitute for proof of anti-competitive conduct."
Antitrust officials from the US justice department and 20 states accuse Microsoft of abusing its monopoly power over Windows - the operating software that drives more than 90 per cent of personal computers - in an attempt to crush Netscape.
Microsoft allegedly spun a web of illegal deals the computer industry to destroy Netscape's revenues and distribution channels. It is further accused of illegally merging its own internet software with Windows to eliminate possible competition.
Mr Warden said the government had attempted to paint Microsoft as "the great Satan", whereas Netscape itself enjoyed a monopoly market share in internet software before Microsoft launched its competition.
Microsoft, citing strong demand from Europe and Japan, yesterday reported first-quarter net income of $1.68 billion (£1.1 billion), up from $663 million in the same period last year. Revenue increased 26 per cent in the quarter to $3.95 billion.
The company said the 1998 earnings figure included a one-time gain of $160 million from the sale of one of its units, while that for 1997 included a $296 million- write-off related to its acquisition of WebTV.
Excluding these special items, net income in Microsoft's first fiscal quarter was $1.52 billion up from $959 million, while earnings per share rose from 36 to 56 cents.
