Microsoft brings Outlook back to Mac

Microsoft will be offering Outlook in place of Entourage in the next MacOS X edition of Office

Microsoft has revealed a plan to port its Outlook communications program as part of the upcoming Office for Mac productivity suite.

The company said that it would be offering Outlook in place of Entourage when it introduces the next MacOS X edition of Office. To help with the transition, the company is also offering an updated Web Services Edition of Entourage.

When it is released, Outlook will offer several new capabilities to the Mac version of Office, such as support for information rights management controls and an updated database system.

Eric Wilfrid, general manager of Microsoft's Macintosh business unit, said: "It is an exciting time for the [Mac Business Unit] with updates to our current products and the first public announcement about the next version of Office for Mac.

"I think people will see that this move to Outlook for Mac is more than just a name change."

The company also announced a new version of the current Office 2008 suite. A Business Edition version of the suite will offer the features of the regular and Student editions along with new training tools, an expanded clip art library and Entourage Web Services Edition.

Microsoft said that it plans to launch the new Business Edition on 15 September at a retail price of $399 (£241).