Bill Gates asked to testify at Senate hearing

Microsoft chairman and CEO Bill Gates has been asked to testify at a SenateJudiciary Committee meeting on March 6th, along with Sun's Scott McNealyand Jim Barksdale of Netscape. A Microsoft spokesperson says that Gates hasan unspecified "previous long-standing commitment" and will send a replacement if he can't make it.

"If his schedule frees up, [he] could possibly, certainly [attend], thespokesperson said. "We hope that the hearing will be fair and balanced."

Netscape says that Jim Barksdale is free to make the hearing but will onlyappear if Gates does.

"Mr. Barksdale would welcome the opportunity to appear with Mr. Gates. If Mr. Gates does not attend, it's highly unlikely Mr. Barksdale will."

Meanwhile, over at Sun, no one seems to know Scott McNealy's schedule.

"We're taking a look at it right now. Until we've checked his calendar, we won't know whether or not he will be available to attend," said a Sunspokesperson. "We definitely feel that the issues Senator Hatch is raisingare important ones."

The hearing was arranged by Judiciary Committee chairman Orrin Hatch, arepublican from Utah. Hatch has raised concerns about Microsoft's monopolydominance in the past and would like to see a more even playing field inthe computer market. Hatch expects to hear "hear "industry perspectives on the competitive dynamics underlying significant structural shifts in moderncomputing" at the hearing. "This should provide an important step in our consideration of how antitrust policy could best serve consumers and the long-term health of the software industry and the Internet generally.