UPDATE: A Microsoft spokesperson has denied the upcoming launch, saying “The Daily story is based on inaccurate rumors and speculation. We have no further comment.” ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Back in November of 2011, rumors of an upcoming Microsoft Office app for …

Microsoft announced the beginning of the technical preview program for Microsoft Office 15, the next generation of Microsoft Office. The preview is the first time the company shares its work with a select group of customers, under non-disclosure agreements. “These …

Google has announced the worldwide availability of Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office. The product was first announced in November, spawned from the company’s acquisition of DocVerse, which specialized in real-time sharing and editing of documents. 

Cloud Connect lets Office users automatically sync and backup their documents with Google Doc, so they’re always accessible on the web, and able to be shared with others. 

Google announced a new feature of Google Docs today, called Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office. The feature comes from Google’s acquisition of DocVese, a company that specialized in the real-time sharing and editing of documents, earlier this year. They paid $25 million for it, and it could turn out to be a huge piece of the puzzle in winning over Microsoft Office users. 

The acquisitive arm of Google reached out again today, and this time, grabbed DocVerse, a company that specializes in the real-time sharing and editing of documents.  The unusual thing is that DocVerse doesn’t deal with just any documents; instead, it focuses on Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word documents.

Dave Girouard, the president of Google’s enterprise division, made an interesting admission earlier today, acknowledging that Google Docs isn’t right for the average person.  But Girouard also made an interesting prediction, putting Google Docs about a year away from seriously challenging Microsoft Office.

Update: Google has expanded the campaign to additional countries:  U.K., France, Canada, Japan, Australia and Singapore.

Update: Office.com is now live under Microsoft’s operation.

Original Article: Microsoft is reportedly now the owner of the domain Office.com. This could be a key component of Microsoft staying competitive with Google as they amp up their quest to get businesses and consumers to use Google Apps.

Microsoft may be down compared to Google in terms of search – some of the most conservative estimates suggest Google’s market share is five times bigger – but the Redmond-based corporation still has little to fear as far as productivity software goes.  Google Docs and Spreadsheets is growing at a gastropod’s pace.

The Mac version of Microsoft Office accounts for 20 percent of U.S. retail sales according to NPD.Mac users account for 10 percent of retail Windows Vista Business and Ultimate sales.