In an e-mail to Microsoft employees, CEO Steve Ballmer on Thursday sought to explain the terms of the company's legal settlement with the government while also exhorting workers to meet the obligations and restrictions outlined in the settlement.

"I take this settlement very seriously and am personally committed to making it a success and ensuring that everyone at Microsoft complies fully with the terms," Ballmer wrote in an e-mail seen by CNET News.com. "This settlement imposes important restrictions and obligations on us as a company, and on many business units and individual employees. Every Microsoft employee has a responsibility to understand these restrictions and obligations and to conduct our business accordingly."

The software giant and the Justice Department earlier this month settled their long, acrimonious antitrust battle with an agreement that many labeled a victory for Microsoft. The proposed deal seeks to impose relatively mild restrictions on Microsoft compared with earlier rulings in the 3-year-old case. The settlement focuses largely on tweaking Microsoft's competitive behavior.