A federal judge ordered Microsoft Corp. Tuesday to remove the "Java compatible" logo from two of its software products, pending the final outcome of a lawsuit brought by rival Sun Microsystems Inc. The preliminary injunction, issued by Judge Ronald Whyte, hands Sun a major victory in its effort to stop Microsoft, its biggest rival, from fragmenting its Java computer programming technology, Sun executives said.

Under the ruling, Microsoft would have to remove the Java logo from its Internet Explorer 4.0 browser and the Java software developers kit, a set of computer programs that help programmers write software in Java.

http://www.sun.com/http://www.microsoft.com/

(c) Reuters