Four days after posting a note to a community site specifying its intent to retire a number of its flagship products as a result of the Sun Java lawsuit, Microsoft has decided to extend the cut-off date by a week.

On Monday, Microsoft posted a new note to its Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) community site, stating that the company is now planning to ax certain products from all Microsoft sales channels starting December 23.

The products targeted for phase-out are those that embed Microsoft's Java Virtual Machine technology.

MSDN Subscriber Downloads program manager Andy Boyd had posted a note on December 4 stating that Microsoft intended to remove Windows 98, SQL Server 7 and a number of versions of Office 2000 from MSDN downloads and all other Microsoft sales channels. He cited Microsoft's legal settlement with Sun Microsystems over Java as the impetus for the move.

Boyd also amended the list of products that Microsoft intends to phase out in his updated posting.

The December 4 note was ambiguous as to which versions of NT 4 Microsoft plans to phase out this year. The December 8 note explains that Microsoft intends to ax the NT 4.0 Terminal Server and Option Pack releases only.

In both the December 4 and 8 notes, Boyd listed a number of products that Microsoft intends to update with a new version of Java in order to avoid having to ax them. The December 8 note corrected the original list. Microsoft's official position is that it will issue new Java-enabled versions of NT 4 Workstation, Server and Enterprise Server; Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2000; Small Business Server 2000; Publisher 2002; and Office Professional with FrontPage.

Sun, the creator of Java, sued Microsoft in 1997 for what Sun claimed was Microsoft's improper use of Sun's Java technology. Sun and Microsoft agreed to settle the suit in January 2001. Microsoft paid Sun $20 million and the two agreed to a plan for Microsoft to phase out products that included the older version of Microsoft Java that allegedly infringed on Sun's Java copyrights and trademarks.

This past fall, Sun and Microsoft agreed to extend the time period under which Microsoft is allowed to use Sun's Java source and compatibility test suites. The two agreed to allow Microsoft to support the Microsoft Java Virtual Machine (MSJVM) until Sept. 30, 2004 "to permit a smooth transition from the MSJVM."

Microsoft execs said today that the company is clearing the channel now, in anticipation of the Sept. 30, 2004, cut-off date.