These range from prohibiting Microsoft from entering into exclusionary contracts to splitting up the company.

Microsoft argues - and many antitrust experts agree - that the courts have in fact gravitated away from a balancing test toward a simpler "predation" test for exclusionary contracts.

In that case, the Government pointed to cross-marketing and other exclusionary contracts between Microsoft and its partners that would be perfectly legal by nearly any other company.

To that same end, the Government also asks the court to prohibit Microsoft from writing exclusionary contracts that effectively discourage competition.

For that reason, browsers pose a threat to Microsoft, which explains its previous attempts to write exclusionary contracts that prohibit its partners from promoting Netscape's Navigator.

They range from trying to get rivals to divide markets to pressuring personal computer makers and Internet service providers to agree to exclusionary contracts that unfairly curb competition.

The state and Federal suits also seek to end "exclusionary contracts with providers of Internet and on-line services" that are intended to make them favor Microsoft products and services.

It also seeks to end exclusionary contracts with providers of Internet services and other on-line services that are intended to give an advantage to Microsoft.

In both cases, plaintiffs were parties to exclusionary contracts with Sanofi Pasteur to purchase vaccines.

Instead, the case now focuses on what the Justice Department and 19 states suing Microsoft call a "pattern of predatory practices," especially exclusionary contracts intended to stymie competition.