Microsoft has introduced a preliminary version of the online Office.

Microsoft has invited tens of thousands of specialists to the closed beta test of Office Web Applications (OWA), an online version of the office application suite.

Word Web App.
It is assumed that the product will be able to compete with such popular web services as Google DocsGoogle Docs, Zoho OfficeSuite, ThinkFree Online, etc.
')
Office Web includes Word Web App, Excel Web App, and PowerPoint Web App — lightweight web versions of the Word word processor, Excel spreadsheet, and PowerPoint presentation wizard. All of them are equipped with the already familiar “ribbon” interface of Office Fluent. A tool to create quick notes and organize personal information OneNote Web App will appear later. In addition, the implementation of additional features is expected, as well as close integration with Microsoft Office 2010.





During pre-testing, experts will be able to create, edit and view Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations online. Editing Word documents is not yet available: you can only view them. Work files are stored in the Office Open XML (OOXML) format on Windows Live SkyDrive servers. The beta interface is made in English and Japanese.
You can work with Office Web applications on Windows, Linux and Mac platforms using Internet Explorer 7 and 8, Firefox 3.5 and Safari 4.0 browsers. In the future, there will be support for Opera and Chrome and access via mobile phone browsers.

The corporation plans to launch an open beta test of Office Web, but it still does not name the exact date: it is likely that a corresponding announcement will be made before the end of the year. There is no information about the release date of the final release of Office Web, although this may happen (as is the case with Office 2010) in the first half of next year.

Recall: in July, the corporation announced that user access to online applications via Windows Live would be free. Corporate will become such only for those companies that are subscribed to the Office Software Assurance maintenance program.

A source