Microsoft introduces 'cloud'-based Office software

Microsoft unveiled a new Inteet-based version of its popular Office software Tuesday in an effort to lash out at rivals like Google.

The debut marked a big leap for the software maker into the world of \"cloud\" computing, which aims to let users access files and use applications anywhere they can use the Inteet.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer presented the overhauled suite of software products - called Office 365 - at an event in New York City.

The new version, available in 40 markets, will bring applications like Outlook email and Excel spreadsheets online, which Ballmer stressed would help save businesses money.

Microsoft is making a run at Google, which has begun to make inroads into the corporate world with less expensive, web-only software products.

Google charges businesses $50 a user each year for its Apps product which offers web-based email, calendars, word processing and other features.

Office 365 will cost anywhere between $2 and $24 a month per user, with offerings ranging from basic email to a more robust group of features that includes social networking and videoconferencing.

Like Google, Microsoft will host data remotely and maintain all the servers in huge data centers. But unlike Google, it will allow companies to either put their data on dedicated servers or keep the information on their own premises.

\"Financially, it will be a while before Office in the cloud becomes meaningful, said Sid Parakh, an analyst at McAdams Wright Ragen.

\"But it provides another delivery mechanism for some of Microsoft's mainstream products and brings them on par with Google Apps.\"