Customers in Canada and the United States can start downloading on Dec. 1. That is one day after the company plans to officially launch the updated productivity suite along with the Windows Vista operating system and the Exchange Server 2007 communications software in New York City.

Users in an additional 13 countries will be able to download the free 60-day trial versions 'soon' after the beginning of December, according to a Microsoft spokeswoman, who declined to give further details. Those countries will include the U.K., Ireland, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium,

Netherlands and Mexico.

Customers can activate their copy of Office 2007 within the first two months by paying online or at a retail store.

With Office 2003, Microsoft's last prior release, only Americans and Canadians were allowed to download free trials of Office through the Internet.