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Wednesday, many government sources confirmed that Justice Department lawyers have proposed splitting Microsoft Corp. as a remedy for the company's allegedly anti-competitive behavior. The proposal was discussed over the weekend at a secret meeting of officials from the U.S. government and 19 states that have sued Microsoft. The position of the Federal government and the states was presented to Federal Mediator Richard Posner last Monday, which was the filing deadline. Posner has been meeting in Chicago with state and federal prosecutors every Monday and with the company each Tuesday. Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray said "I can't speculate on what the government is thinking." He called the proposal "an extreme and radical proposal that is not justified by anything in the case and doesn't reflect the reality of the competitive industry." The company also said, "it is ironic that anyone would be talking about breaking up Microsoft at the time that America Online and Time Warner completed the largest merger in history designed to compete with Microsoft." The government's endorsement of a break-up, considered the "death penalty" among possible remedies, could encourage Microsoft to seek a lesser sanction during settlement talks. But it could also delay negotiations and encourage Microsoft to battle the case through America's courts for years. What isn’t known is exactly how the government plans on restructuring Microsoft. Much speculation has focused on the idea of dividing the software giant into three separate companies. One would build the Windows operating system, another that sells software applications and a third for Internet business. However, at least one source told the Associated Press that such a three sector Microsoft is not planned. Rather, Page 2 according to the source, the government wants to force the creation of a series of smaller, duplicate companies, nicknamed "Baby Bills," that would compete against each other. Breaking up Microsoft into smaller companies would be "stupid because it just creates confusion in the marketplace," said Michael Cusumano, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has written about Microsoft's battle with the former Netscape Communications Corp. "The break-up sounds like a mess to me," he said. The market responded because Microsoft shares closed down 3-9/16 at 105-13/16 on Wednesday. In November, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson agreed with federal prosecutors in a preliminary finding that Microsoft stifled innovation in the computer industry. Prosecutors have charged the company used its dominant position in operating systems to coerce PC makers to use its software, especially its Internet browser.