The source code for the converters will also be made available, so such plug-ins are likely to quickly find their way into the main downloadable OpenOffice product. The Word converter is due for release in January 2007, while no time frames have been announced for the other formats.

Despite the new plans, Novell isn't entirely abandoning the existing OpenDocument format used by OpenOffice. "Novell supports the OpenDocument format as the default file format in OpenOffice.org because it provides customer choice and flexibility, but interoperability with Microsoft Office has also been critical to the success of OpenOffice.org," Nat Friedman, Novell's chief technology and strategy officer, said in a statement.
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