Google has added the ability to include tables in presentations in Google Docs. The feature has apparently been in high demand, and the company says they really wanted it too.

Users can insert a table into their presentation, then easily add, select, and resize rows and columns, format and align text across the table, and set background colors for cells and borders. Rows will resize themselves to fit content.  Google provides the following example table:

A while back, Google introduced a viewer in Gmail for PDFs, and that has now been improved upon to support TIFF and PowerPoint documents. This means you can view PDFs, PPTs, and TIFFs in Gmail right from your browser without having to save them or have any additional software.

Marc Miller on the Gmail notes that Gmail has had a "view as slideshow" option for PowerPoint files for a while, but the conversion technology is now integrated into this viewer.

Microsoft is taking its Office program and going online. The next release of Microsoft Office will include Office Web applications, “lightweight” versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.

The company’s announcement follows yesterday’s unveiling of its cloud-based Web apps operating platform, Windows Azure, and both are “part of a strategic companywide shift toward embracing web-based solutions.”

Microsoft’s Mac Business Unit has announced that Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac OS will allow iPhone and iPod users to sync with PowerPoint.

You will be able to run PowerPoint slideshows on your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPod Classic and fatty iPod Nano (any iPod with picture support) if you have a Mac with PowerPoint 2008 and iPhoto (2006 or better).

The rumored arrival of a Google option for creating and viewing slide-based presentations became fact with the debut of its newest feature on Google Docs.

The Inquirer reports that Google may soon deploy slideshow presentation creation and display software which they’ll call “Presently”. This application was apparently developed out of code that Google got with their acquisition of Zenter and Tonic Systems earlier this year.

The new presentation software will join the other Google Apps suite of products which include Google Spreadsheets, Google Write, and Gmail.

The Inquirer is reporting we should soon see Google’s PowerPoint clone, named Presently. Now, before you run around all excited–like a child with their underpants on their head–consider that we’ve heard these rumors since February.

Google appears to be on track to deliver on its promise to provide a PowerPoint alternative by the summer. The company has announced the acquisition of Zenter, a company offering online slide presentations.