Google allies with Sun to offer challenge to Microsoft Office

American Marketing Association News: "Google Inc., the world's most-used Internet search engine, and Sun Microsystems are joining forces to offer online word processing and spreadsheet functions in a direct challenge to Microsoft Corp.'s dominance.
Google will distribute Sun's free OpenOffice.org software for personal computers, the companies said Tuesday at a press conference in Google's home town of Mountain View, Calif. Some downloaded Sun programs also will include Google's toolbar.
The alliance may present one of the strongest competitors to Microsoft's Office word processing and spreadsheet products, which generated $11 billion in sales last fiscal year. Google is using Sun to accelerate its battle with Microsoft, adding a missing piece to its growing list of features that includes the Google toolbar, e- mail and desktop search. "