Microsoft has finally opened up its web based suite of Office applications to early testers. In what is being called a limited technical preview, online users will be able to test the various applications that make up MS Office including Excel, Word and Powerpoint. The objective of the technical preview is to assist the Redmond company iron out bugs as well as introduce new features to their new cloud computing services. Microsoft anticipates that true beta testing consisting of thousands of users will begin later this year.

Office Web Apps supports current web browsers including IE7, Safari 4 and Firefox 3.5. In addition, no proprietary software such as Flash or Silverlight is required.

Microsoft has indicated that once the web services are fully rolled out, it will be completely compatible with Office 2010. The online services are expected to be free for personal use.

The move to online Office is expected to help Microsoft compete with the likes of Zoho and Google Docs.

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