The next version of Microsoft Word will include support for XML. What’s explained in this article sounds interesting but it’s too soon to be clear what it really means. It does not seem that XML will be the native file format, as is true with OpenOffice/StarOffice, which is a damn shame. That’s one of the many reasons I’m fond of OpenOffice, because it means that I can use those docs in all sorts of different ways.

Still, if Word content is in any way exportable or accessible using XML, this is a Good Thing. I’m sure that Microsoft will find a way to keep everything in the family, making it really easy to use with other Microsoft products but a pain in the ass to use anything else. We shall see.