Microsoft India Pvt. Ltd. has announced the availability of Office Web Apps in India. Starting today, users can access Office Web Apps, the online companions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, for free using their Windows Live ID on the SkyDrive or Hotmail.

This will allow them to create, view, edit, and share Office documents from anywhere with an Internet connection. "Office Web Apps are a key piece of Microsoft's overall cloud strategy and are designed to empower people to take their familiar productivity experience on the web," said Sanjay Manchanda, director, Microsoft Business Division.

“Features like ease of sharing and high document fidelity make Office Web Apps a powerful enabler of productivity in the cloud for modern information workers and consumers alike. Moreover, this is a great tool for students to collaborate on their school and college projects in a seamless way”, he added.

Office Web Apps provides consistent formatting of a document with full images and footnotes, table borders and text effects to team members using Office Web Apps, said the release.

Microsoft also announced in November 2010 that Facebook users who are using its new messaging service are now able to view office application online using Office Web Apps.