The folks of Microsoft have rarely impressed us with their online applications, but this time might be different. Live Documents, created by Sabeer Bhatia of Hotmail fame, has one huge advantage over every other online office suite - it looks exactly like Microsoft Office 2007, and Office is by far the most often used desktop office package out there. Most people, when they think of writing something on their computer or creating a table, instantly think of Office, and that's a comparative advantage that everyone would like to have.
Now, I must admit that the fact that Live Documents is not developed by Microsoft, but by Bhatia's company InstaColl, is very confusing. I can't see how you can have a product called Live Documents, that looks exactly like Microsoft's Office suite, without Microsoft either endorsing or suing you. We will see how this one pans out in the end.
How do we know it looks like Office? Well, Amit over at Digital Inspiration has gotten hold of some screenshots of Live Documents, and they look like a perfect replica of Office. Of course, this doesn't mean that it actually works as well as Office, but if it does, it might give Google Docs, Zoho and others a run for their money. One screenshot below, see the rest over at Digital Inspiration.