Iowa attorney general Tom Miller, speaking to reporters after a closed door meeting with officials from other states involved in the case, said depositions began recently but declined to provide details.

``What we talked about today was generally an update of where we are,'' Miller said. ``We're very elated, of course, that a trial date has been set for September 8.''

Iowa is among 20 states that sued Microsoft in May, joining the US justice department in charging that the company is abusing its monopoly power to limit competition in the market for Internet software.

The states also have charged that Microsoft has abused its monopoly in the market for office productivity software, but they plan to drop that claim from their lawsuit later this month, a source familiar with the case said on Wednesday.

Microsoftspokesman Mark Murray said lawyers for the software giant have begun taking depositions from executives of other companies, which he declined to identify.

``This is all part of the normal preparation that occurs in any case,'' he said. ``We've encountered some resistance and delays, but from a substantive standpoint our preparation seems to be going well.''

He said top Microsoft executives generally already have provided information to state and federal officials during the investigation that led up to the anti-trust lawsuits.

Microsoft's case won a significant boost last month when an appeals court backed the company's long-standing contention that its Windows 95 operating system and Internet Explorer browser was an integrated product.

Microsoft is expected to use that ruling to seek dismissal of most charges in the federal and state anti-trust case. But Miller said he was not concerned by the ruling, saying the states planned to introduce new evidence not considered by the appeals court.

Milleralso said he did not expect further negotiations with Microsoft after talks over a possible settlement broke down in May. ``Negotiations can always happen, but we're not expecting them,'' Miller said.