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Microsoft`s Office Beta Will Cost $1.50

Even though most software companies do not charge for most of the downloads, Microsoft is going to charge a nominal fee for Office 2007 Beta 2 downloads. According to a Microsoft spokeswoman, starting next Wednesday at 6 p.m. PDT, users who download the 2007 Microsoft Office system Beta 2 will be charged $1.50 per download. "Since the end of May, Beta 2 has been downloaded more than 3 million times...That`s 500 percent more than what was expected," she said. "The fee helps offset the cost of downloading from the servers."

She also added that although it was decided by Microsoft`s Information Worker Product Management Group to initiate a fee for new consumers of Beta 2, the "technical refresh," or update, for current users of the software will remain free of charge.

The users who want to test drive Beta 2 to review how it works can access it for free as well. But if they need to test it against their internal systems, a download or the CD is required. The spokeswoman said: "This is the first time Microsoft has charged for an Office beta, and it`s not something that is planned for on a repeat basis".