Microsoft Corp is facing a world of troubles.

　　The European Union is on the verge of imposing burdensome sanctions against the company, as antitrust challenges nag the software titan at home and in Asia. Plus, stiffer competition looms from open-source products led by the Linux operating system.

　　Amid all that, analysts wonder what the next big revenue stream will be for a company whose next major software launch may be two years away - and which has turned considerable attention to shoring up the security of its existing products.

　　"The company has a substantial amount of distraction, probably more distraction than they've ever had in their history," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst with The Enderle Group.

　　No one is suggesting that the distractions pose a serious, immediate threat to the technology giant. After all, its Windows software still controls about 90 percent of the world's desktop computers, and it boasts nearly US$53 billion in cash reserves.

　　"I think they're a pretty resilient company and they tend to rise to the occasion," said David Smith, an analyst with Gartner. But, Smith says, serious issues exist that could end up hurting Microsoft's business.

　　Microsoft's inability to reach a settlement last week in its long-running antitrust case with the EU sets the stage for what is expected to be a major ruling against the company. In addition to a fine that could be hundreds of millions of dollars, the ruling could force the company to sell a version of Windows without its multimedia-player software, at least in Europe.

　　Microsoft has vowed to appeal, meaning the case could be tied up in legal wrangling for years.

　　And there are other legal challenges. In Minneapolis, Microsoft just went to trial over allegations that it overcharged Minnesota consumers for software licenses. That case is expected to take several months. And a divided Nebraska Supreme Court has just revived a class-action lawsuit alleging the company violated the state's consumer-protection laws.

　　Seattle-based RealNetworks Inc, which makes a rival music and video player, has sued Microsoft for anticompetitive behavior.

　　Microsoft's Japanese division, meantime, was raided last month over concerns about anticompetitive behavior.

　　And the company still awaits a US appeals court ruling to decide whether sanctions in its landmark US antitrust settlement were adequate. One state, Massachusetts, is pressing for tougher penalties.

　　The legal battles are not unexpected given Microsoft's dominance - and the fact that it was found guilty of monopolistic behavior in the US antitrust case - said Matt Rosoff, an analyst with independent researchers Directions on Microsoft.

　　They are simply "a condition of doing business for Microsoft," he said.

　　(The Associated Press)