Microsoft Must Explain E-Mail Destruction

A federal judge ordered Microsoft Corp. to search a company computer to help explain why Vice President James E. Allchin told employees in 2000 to eliminate e-mails.

U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz in Baltimore issued the order in an antitrust and patent suit by Burst.com Inc., which has accused Microsoft of stealing its technology for broadcasting sound and video over the Internet at high speeds. Burst.com charges that Microsoft destroyed e-mails that may have helped the Santa Rosa, Calif.-based company win its case.