First word on Microsoft's online Office

It's no secret that Microsoft is desperately trying to push out a Web-based version of its cash-machine Office suite in order to stop Google Docs from dominating the browser-delivered apps space.

Now we're getting a first look at what MS is selling. From the Cnet "test-drive":

Office Web Apps is a fundamentally different product from Google Docs. The apps run more slowly than the lightweight online Google productivity apps, but Microsoft will offer more features and commonality with the desktop apps.

For people and companies that have standardized on Microsoft Office, the preview shows that Office Web Apps will do a good job of extending the desktop experience to the Web.

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In summary, Office Web Apps is, very clearly, the desktop Office suite put on the Web. It's feature-rich and appears to be targeted at individuals creating complex documents on their own. New users who don't need or want the complexity of a desktop app, or who are more accustomed to working hand-in-hand with others, may be put off. Certainly, if Microsoft releases this product to the public without fixing the collaboration workflow, even die-hard Office users will avoid the service when they're in a hurry and have work to do with colleagues.