Microsoft on Tuesday released two new versions of its Office for the Mac, dropped the price of the Standard Edition by US$100, and added virtual machine software to the new top-end edition.

New to the Office lineup for the Mac are Office v.X Professional and Office v.X Student and Teacher Edition.

The former adds Virtual PC for Mac, a x86 software emulator that, when configured with Windows XP Professional, can run PC programs on the Mac. Virtual PC comes from Connectix, the virtual machine software firm which Microsoft purchased earlier this year. Professional is priced at US$499.

Student and Teacher Edition, although identical to the Standard Edition of the suite, is priced at US$149, substantially less than the still-available Standard, which now costs US$399, down from US$499.

As with the Office aimed at educators and students who use Windows, the Mac version doesn't demand proof that the buyer is, in fact, either in school or teaching. It may be installed on up to three Macs, said Microsoft.

The new versions will be available August 18 in the United States and Sept. 1 worldwide.

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