US government antitrust enforcers yesterday proposed hearings on sanctions against Microsoft for early February, but the company said it was too soon to establish a firm schedule.

In a joint status report filed with US District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, the two sides agreed on some procedural matters but differed on how quickly the remainder of the landmark antitrust case should go forward.

The US Justice Department and 18 states suing Microsoft urged that the remedy hearings "commence on or about Feb 4, 2002".

Microsoft wants to push the hearings back at least six months, unless the judge agrees to limit the "scope" of possible sanctions against the firm for abusing its monopoly in PC operating systems. The remedies the government said it is considering were "outside the scope of the issues in the case and the evidence presented at trial," Microsoft said.