WASHINGTON (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. has agreed to a government request for minor changes in its Windows operating system to make it easier for consumers to use software from rival companies to browse Web pages, listen to music and send instant messages.

Windows will now have a more prominent icon for a program that allows customers to make such changes. It also will include instructions describing exactly how to make those changes, people familiar with the decision said Thursday. Microsoft developed the program under its antitrust agreement with the Justice Department.

The program, known as "Set Program Access and Defaults," lets consumers specify which company's software is routinely used for activities such as sending E-mails and instant messages, Web surfing, and listening to music or watching movies.

The placement change for the icon would save consumers a single mouse-click and make it visible each time a user clicks the Windows "start" button. The icon presently is located on a sub-menu one level deep.

The program and other changes sought by the Justice Department were included last year as part of a package of updates, known as a service pack, for Microsoft's latest versions of Windows. It was unclear whether this latest change will be made as part of an upcoming service pack expected later this year.

A spokesman for Microsoft, Jim Desler, said the company was "working cooperatively with the Justice Department to take its feedback, and we expect to make changes from time to time that reflect that feedback."

The Justice Department declined to comment on specific changes it sought.

"The antitrust division is continuing its efforts in enforcing compliance with the consent decree," spokeswoman Gina Talamona said. "The division works constructively with Microsoft to address issues that arise in this process."