Office Live Close to Launch

… The launch of Microsoft’s hosted software for small businesses is just around the corner, the company said.

In an e-mail sent to registered beta testers on Tuesday, Microsoft promised the beta was close at hand. It also explained the three different Office Live packages it designed for small business owners.

• Microsoft Office Live Basics provides domain-name registration, site-design tools, Web hosting, Web site traffic reports and a still-to-be-determined number of e-mail accounts.
• Microsoft Office Live Collaboration is a hosted version of Windows SharePoint. It lets a business create shared, password-protected collaboration sites. The offering includes online business applications to manage customer, project, sales and company information.
• Microsoft Office Live Essentials combines Office Live Basics and Office Live Collaboration, adding additional company e-mail accounts, enhanced access features, advanced Web traffic reports, and Microsoft Office FrontPage Web design software.

Microsoft hasn’t provided details about pricing for Office Live; the e-mail said the services would be free during the beta period. …