Bowing to pressure from Google Inc. and antitrust regulators, Microsoft Corp will make it easier for Windows Vista users to pick a non-Microsoft program to search their hard drives. Microsoft will let PC users and manufacturers like Dell Inc set a different program such as Google Desktop as the default instead of Vista’s “Instant Search,” according to a US Justice Department report. Microsoft will also add a link to that alternate program in the Windows Start menu.

Currently, when Vista users browse through their documents, access the control panel, or do other system-related tasks, a Vista search box appears in the upper-right corner of the window. That box will remain, and it will continue to use the Microsoft search engine, but Microsoft will also add a link to the default desktop search program.

Tuesday’s regularly scheduled status report on Microsoft’s post-antitrust business practices comes after Google filed a 49-page document with the Justice Department in April, claiming that Vista’s desktop search tool slowed down competing programs, including Google’s own free offering. Google also said it is too difficult for users to figure out how to turn off the Microsoft program.

Microsoft initially dismissed the allegations, saying regulators had reviewed the program before Vista launched. However, Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, said in an interview last week that the company was willing to make changes if necessary.