MICROSOFT NETWORK THE NEXT TARGET FOR JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

     The Justice Department's antitrust division is looking into
how the planned Microsoft Network, expected to be launched this
August, might affect the on-line industry, according to a report
in this morning's WASHINGTON POST.  America Online, CompuServe
and Prodigy all received requests for information, with today the
likely deadline.  The Justice Department "would not confirm the
precise nature of its inquiry into the network" (Elizabeth
Corcoran, WASHINGTON POST, 6/9).  Barring a delay in the start of
MSN, to be launched with Microsoft's new operating system,
Windows 95, Microsoft plans to link the service to its CD-ROM
products through one-button access.  According to the latest
INTERACTIVE WEEK, Microsoft CD-ROM titles such as "Microsoft
Baseball" and "Microsoft Basketball" will be linked to MSN so
that fans can get online results and stats via GEIS, a GE
subsidiary (INTERACTIVE WEEK, 6/5 issue).