Office Live exits beta

Microsoft’s Office Live has shed its beta.

The Internet-based software for businesses, which offers features such as Web site building and hosting, e-mail accounts and customer management tools, became generally available in the United States on Wednesday morning. It had been in beta since February 15.

In addition to the free Basics version, Microsoft is selling premium versions with more services for a monthly subscription fee: Microsoft Office Live Essentials for $20 per month and Microsoft Office Live Premium for $40 per month. The software is available via the Office Live site.

As part of the release, Microsoft announced that Toshiba and Sony notebooks and laptops will come bundled with a desktop link to Office Live and other Office Live links from within relevant Web tools. The company also released on Wednesday a beta version of Office Live in the U.K., France, Japan and Germany.

Read more: ZDNet