Now in 150 More Countries, Office Web Apps Internationalization Nears Completion

The promise from Microsoft is that next month, the services designed to extend Office 2010 into the Cloud will reach global availability.

Meanwhile, the Redmond company has made an immense leap forward in terms of internationalization by opening up Office Web Apps to users in an additional over 150 countries on top of the markets in which it had already been launched.

“Starting today, people in over 150 more countries can use the Web Apps to view, edit, and share Office documents from anywhere with a browser and an internet connection. This includes viewing, editing, and sharing Office document attachments in Hotmail,” revealed Jevon Fark, Sr. Marketing Manager with Office.

According to Fark, customers in such countries as India, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, and Thailand will be able to enjoy the unique experience that Office Web Apps brings to the table.

Customers in the remaining markets around the world need to exercise their patience a tad longer, as flavors of Office Web Apps tailored to their specific country will be available in March.

“Next month is the global finale – when the Web Apps will reach the entire world, with a roll-out to all remaining markets,” Fark promised.

“March, 2011: The Office Web Apps will become available worldwide with roll-out to all remaining markets in Central and South America, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.”

Microsoft has certainly come a long way since June 7, 2010 when it rolled out Office Web Apps to an initial four countries: the U.S., Canada, UK, and Ireland.

Subsequent roll-outs were done on September 23 (in Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Russia, and Switzerland) and December 6 (China, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong SAR, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, and Turkey).