Microsoft's Office Live Workspace service has topped one million users, according to the company.

The beta version of the hosted document service reached the user milestone some sixth months after it was first launched by Microsoft.

Office Live Workspace allows office users to share and edit documents online. The service functions as an extension to Microsoft Office and competes with Google Docs in the relatively new arena of hosted productivity apps.

The service is an example of Microsoft's "software plus services" platform in which the company is seeking to use online services to supplement its existing installed software products.

The platform is Microsoft's answer to web-only 'software as a service' productivity suites from the likes of Google and Zoho.

"The pace at which people are signing up for the beta tells us that they are looking for ways to resolve the complexities of their work, school and home projects through a range of choices," said Microsoft Office director of consumer and small-business products Kirk Gregersen.

"It takes companies years to attract a strong customer base such as this."