The original Works

Microsoft is planning on making its newest version of Works, the home productivity suite, free and ad-supported.

According to TechCrunch, the software will be based on older versions of Microsoft Office and will include a version of Word, PowerPoint and Excel. The move will put Microsoft in competition with Google Docs & Spreadsheets, Thinkfree Office and Zoho.

According to ZDNet, this is just the first ad-supported software Microsoft is planning. Office Accounting Express is apparently in the pipeline as well.