Microsoft has rolled out its Beta of Office Live Workspace, its Web-based office productivity software designed to hurt Google.

Office Live Workspace allows users to work with Word, PowerPoint, Excel or PDF files directly from Office applications remotely and collaboratively. It is part of Redmond's "software-plus-services" strategy, in which applications are Web-enabled and available on demand.

So far, user reports complain that the platform is a bit slow, but that it is getting there. The University of Pennsylvania, the University of Washington and Vanderbilt University are included in the early-adopter program.