REDMOND WASHINGTON - 06/11/2000,

Today Microsoft, in an unanticipated move, declared that it would not appeal the Justice Department's ruling that split Microsoft into two different companies.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates issued a statement that in part read "Microsoft is prepared to accept the federal government's ruling regarding its breakup. We have decided not to appeal, as it is in the best interests of all involved to get this incident over with as quickly as possible."

The Justice Department's ruling splits Microsoft into two separate companies. One company for Microsoft's Windows98 and Windows NT operating systems and another company for Microsoft's applications, such as Internet Explorer and Office. The two companies will be entirely separate and Bill Gates will only be allowed to own one of them.

When asked how this split will affect customers, Mr. Gates responded "There will not be a noticeable effect on customers. We are splitting our customer service division so that each company will have an equal number of representatives. Each company will receive one of the two representatives that we have today."