Bill Gates has hinted that online versions of some Microsoft Office tools may be in the works as it confronts the fact of similar online offerings from rival Google.

Gates suggested to the Financial Times that Microsoft would launch online versions of some of its Microsoft Office tools, in an effort to outdo Google. When pressed by the Financial Times to confirm whether Microsoft would launch online productivity tools similar to those in Office, Gates answered, "We're going to cover 100 percent of the productivity needs - our track record is to keep innovating."

Google recently began moving toward a suite of online offerings similar to Microsoft Office, with document, spreadsheet, and online calendars. But Gates downlplayed their quality and scope.

He said the current generation of online productivity applications are fairly basic, and similar to the Microsoft Works package. "The web-based things aren't an advance over what Works has been for a long, long time," Gates said. "We don't think the market will shift to a Works-like level."