By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Alphabet unit Google filed a complaint to the European Commission on Wednesday against what it said were Microsoft's anti-competitive practices to lock customers into Microsoft's cloud platform Azure.

Microsoft is facing antitrust accusations filed by tech rival Google with the European Commission that allege Microsoft made customers pay extra to run Windows on its competitors' cloud platforms.

Alphabet unit Google complained to the European Commission on Wednesday, claiming that Microsoft was engaging in anti-competitive behaviour by locking consumers onto its Azure cloud platform. TakeAway Points: Alphabet unit Google filed a complaint to the European Commission on Wednesday against what it said were Microsoft’s anti-competitive practices to lock customers into Microsoft’s cloud platform

Google escalated a feud with Microsoft over cloud computing on Wednesday with a European Union antitrust complaint accusing its tech rival of anticompetitive practices. In a blog post, Google alleged that Microsoft's licensing practices lock business customers into using its Azure cloud computing platform.

A spokesperson at the European Commission, the EU's antitrust watchdog, confirmed that the complaint was received, adding that "We will assess under our standard procedures".

Alphabet unit Google filed a complaint to the European Commission on Wednesday against what it said were Microsoft's anti-competitive practices to lock customers into Microsoft's cloud platform Azure.

Microsoft has made it cost-prohibitive for clients to use Windows Server or other products on rival services, such as Google Cloud or Amazon's AWS.