Microsoft Releases Office Update Ahead of Schedule

SEATTLE (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp MSFT.O said on Tuesday that it released the first major update of its Office 2007 productivity software at least one month ahead of its projected target.

The world’s largest software maker said Office 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1) will crash less, is easier to use and is more secure than the original program that was released to consumers in January.

Microsoft had said it planned to release Office 2007 SP1 in early 2008, but the company finished updating the software sooner than it expected.

“We’re optimistic that with the shipment of SP1 we’re removing any residual barriers that may have impeded deployment and that adoption will only accelerate,” Reed Shaffner, Microsoft Office product manager, said on its Web site.

Customers can download SP1 from office.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/default.aspx or request a CD at office.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx. Microsoft said it will send an automatic update for SP1 at a later date.

(Reporting by Daisuke Wakabayashi; Editing by Brian Moss)