Microsoft Works to become free?

Are Microsoft responding to Google Apps with making MS Works free?

Mary Jo Foley reports Microsoft will release the next version of Works for free and support it with advertising.

MS Works is a product I've always disliked. My main beef is that largely incompatible with MS Office with the exception of a period where Word was bundled into it, which they dropped two versions ago.

I'm not sure the last time I actually encountered a mug customer who had paid for Works, usually it's thrown in as an extra by a vendor or salesman desperate to get it off their shelves.

However, one thing going for Works is that it is a far more powerful group of applications that Google apps.

Personally, if you don't want to buy MS Office, I'd go for Open Office or 602 Office over MS Works any time. But for free, it's certainly an alternative although it's probably less compatible with Office than OO.

The only thing I hope is they at least give the next version of Works the ability to save into MS Word, Excel and Access formats. If they did this, people might actually be prepared to buy it.