Microsoft set to release new version of Office

Microsoft is set to launch its latest version of its Office software.

Office XP will feature several new functions intended to make the product, an important cash cow for the company, easier to use.

These will include one to allow documents to be shared across an intranet and another to give users streamlined access to recently-used documents.

The company are also expected to promote smart tags at the products' simultaneous launch events taking place in 100 cities worldwide.

Smart tags are text bubbles that appear above a recently typed word that prompt the user for options.

But some analysts are concerned that the new offering may not offer enough inducement to justify an upgrade.

Rob Enderle, a research fellow with Giga Information Systems, says the version comes too soon after Office 2000.

He predicts many customers could wait for the release of Windows XP, the new version of Microsoft's operating system due out in October.

The success of Office XP is regarded as critically important to Microsoft because many see it as a precursor to the company's much-publicised .NET strategy.

The strategy, still in its initial phases, involves transforming its key data management products into subscription-based services available from any web-enabled device.