Steve Ballmer answering questions on stage with (out of frame) Microsoft's Richard Wolf and Mike Angiulo.

Microsoft has been showing the next versions of its Visio and Project programs at two conferences in Seattle this week, and CEO Steve Ballmer spoke to attendees at a joint session Thursday morning. (See this story for more details.) Afterward, during a question-and-answer period, one person asked about the Gartner research firm's characterization of Microsoft Project as a challenger, rather than a leader, in the market for project and portfolio management software.

The question reflected an important consideration for Microsoft partners, firms that make specialized programs that work with the company's products. Those partners are essentially tying their fortunes to the Microsoft products they work with, betting that those products will do well in the market.

Said Ballmer: "For what it's worth, we are the market leader in units, and we are the market leader in revenue, which at least is another indicator of bets that should be made, because of the work that folks in this room and many others do. But we don't want to leave any space for anybody else, competitively."

Um, hello, U.S. Justice Department? Ballmer immediately recognized the anti-competitive manner in which those words might be construed, and as the crowd broke into laughter, he quickly explained what he actually meant -- lest it become a topic for the company's next antitrust compliance hearing.

"On the innovation front!" he said. "Everybody is welcome to thrive commercially. But we will lead on the innovation front."

Grinning, he wiped his brow theatrically. "Phew," he said.