After launching to business partners in April, the latest version of Microsoft Office is now available on retail shelves across the country.

Microsoft says that users who bought and activated Office 2007 from March 5th this year can now download and install Office 2010 at no additional cost via the Tech Guarantee programme.

The three versions being offered at retail are Office Home and Student 2010, Office Home and Business 2010 and Office Professional 2010.

 New Zealand tertiary students can also purchase a copy of Office Professional 2010 Academic version for NZ$99.

“Consumers everywhere will love connecting to their social networks through the Social Connector functionality in Outlook 2010, and with a new focus on design elements, Office 2010 opens up new avenues for transforming visuals into works of art, helping people bring their ideas to life,” said Anne Taylor, Information Worker Business Group Manager, Microsoft New Zealand.

“We’ve preserved the look and feel of Office across the desktop, phone and Web browser, for anywhere, anytime access. Office 2010 also defines the future of productivity for businesses – organisations will save, innovate and grow as their people benefit from working across the PC, phone and browser,” she added.

You can read our two-part exclusive interview with Microsoft Office Senior Product Manager – and New Zealand expat – Geoff Anderson here.