(AP) Microsoft Corp. will make changes to the program that helps Windows Vista users search their hard drives, in response to antitrust complaints from Google Inc., according to a U.S. Justice Department report issued late Tuesday.

Google filed a 49-page document with the Justice Department in April claiming Vista's desktop search tool slowed down competing programs, including Google's own free offering, and that it's difficult for users to figure out how to turn off the Microsoft program.

Microsoft initially dismissed the allegations, saying regulators had reviewed the program before Vista launched. However, Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, said in an interview last week that the company was willing to make changes if necessary.

Google's claims were intended to show that the world's largest software maker is not complying with a settlement reached in 2002 after the government concluded Microsoft used its near-ubiquitous Windows operating system to throttle competition. As part of the settlement, Microsoft is bound by a consent decree that requires it to help rivals build software that runs smoothly on Windows.

Tuesday's regularly scheduled status report on Microsoft's post-antitrust business practices detailed a compromise that would give computer users clearer options for picking a non-Microsoft desktop search program.

The report said Microsoft will let PC users and manufacturers like Dell Inc. set a non-Microsoft program such as Google Desktop as the default. Microsoft will also add a link to that alternate program in the Windows Start menu.

Currently, when Vista users browse through their documents, access the control panel, or do other system-related tasks, a Vista search box appears in the upper-right corner of the window. That box will remain, and it will continue to use the Microsoft search engine, but Microsoft will also add a link to the default desktop search program.

However, Google said the compromise didn't go far enough.

"Microsoft's current approach to Vista desktop search clearly violates the consent decree and limits consumer choice," said David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer. "These remedies are a step in the right direction, but they should be improved further to give consumers greater access to alternate desktop search providers."

In response to claims that Vista's "Instant Search" slows competing products, Microsoft agreed to give competitors technical information to help optimize performance.

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