Alive and well

Microsoft has availed the beta version of Office Live Workspace to the public.

Features include sharing functionality, an activity panel, email notifications about changes to workspace docs, direct linking to workspace files and multi-file uploads.

Though Microsoft faces a sea of competitive online productivity apps such as Google Docs and Zoho, its Office products are used by half a million people, according to the company.

And Microsoft may in fact pull ahead, thanks to a hefty marketing budget and a snappy new agency relationship. Office competitors currently suffer from a dearth of marketing efforts.