REDMOND, Wash. -- July 5, 2001 - Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of Microsoft® Word + Entourage™ 2001 Special Edition (SE). Word + Entourage 2001 SE is a limited-time promotion that allows users of Macintosh OS (8.1 and higher) to experience the world's most popular word-processing application as well as integrated e-mail and personal information management solutions in a value-priced package. Word + Entourage 2001 SE was designed with features for the users of Macintosh whose main needs include word processing and e-mail. The word-processing program enables users to easily create Word documents, while Entourage gives users the power to manage their e-mail and personal information, including addresses, calendar appointments and schedules. To give users the right combination of features for an attractive price, some advanced tools -- such as menu and toolbar customization, support for scripting, synchronization with Palm handhelds and business templates -- are not included in Word + Entourage 2001 SE. However, these features are offered in the complete Office 2001 for Mac suite for those users who need them. "We wanted to provide an opportunity for price-sensitive Mac users to take advantage of the industry's most popular word-processing application and the new e-mail and personal information manager all for a great price," said Kevin Browne, general manager of the Macintosh Business Unit at Microsoft. "Combine that with the fact that Word + Entourage SE users will also qualify for the special upgrade price to Office 10 for Mac OS X when it becomes available, and it's clear this special package offers a lot of value." Word + Entourage 2001 SE customers will be able to upgrade to the full Office 2001 suite. They will also be able to upgrade to Office 10 for Mac OS X, once it's available, for the special price of $149. The special combination of Word and Entourage is compatible with Word 98 Macintosh Edition and Word 2001 for Mac, and is also cross-platform compatible with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000 and Word XP for the Windows® operating system, allowing users to save files in their native format and share them with anyone, whether they use a Mac or PC. In addition to word-processing and e-mail functionality, the package includes these features: * Project Gallery. Users can quickly start projects with the Project Gallery's customizable templates for resumes, catalogs, newsletters, calendars and more. * Clip Art Gallery. This gallery includes hundreds of images and provides tools to make it simpler to work with graphics and organize art. * Address Book. The comprehensive Address Book stores all contact information and allows users to locate an address on a map or find driving directions from Expedia.com. * Calendar. With the integrated calendar, users can easily organize their schedules and set reminders for important events and projects. The calendar also can be saved as a Web page so others can be notified about a schedule through e-mail and over the Internet. The specially priced promotional offering for Microsoft Word + Entourage 2001 SE will be available in English and French versions for a limited time only. The English version is expected to reach stores the week of July 9, and the French version the week of Aug. 6. The promotion has an estimated retail price* of $149 (U.S.).