The federal judge overseeing the Microsoft Corp. antitrust case agreed on Friday to hold a hearing on the U.S. Justice Department's proposed settlement of the landmark case in early March. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said she agreed to hold a hearing on the settlement during the week of March 4, as the government and the software giant had requested. Lawyers for Microsoft and the Justice Department on Thursday told Kollar-Kotelly she should hold a one-day hearing on the proposed settlement of the antitrust case against the company, and bar critics of the deal from participating at the hearing. However, on Friday Kollar-Kotelly made no decision about how long the hearings would be or whether critics of the settlement will be allowed to participate.
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