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Among the notable improvements are support for the new ODF 1.2 standard, as well as an ability to open files created in Office 2007 for Windows and 2008 on the Mac. This sits alongside existing support for Office binary formats such as .doc, which should theoretically make it more appealing to Office waverers looking for an alternative.

Unfortunately, while our .docx files seemed to open with formatting intact, our Excel 2008 spreadsheet didn't fare so

Mac users will also find something to cheer in the new release, which runs natively on Mac OS X without the need for X11. Alongside this broader support, a solver feature has been added making it easier to calculate values dependent on other cells, while Writer now sees comments displayed in a handy sidebar.

Those looking for the eye candy revolution of Office 2007 will disappointed, however. While the icons have had a lick of paint and a new start centre has been added, aesthetically it's still the OpenOffice of yesteryear.

OpenOffice 2 has been a perennial favourite on our A-list since release, and with the third release it appears the OpenOffice team are aiming to open it up to as wide a potential audience as possible.

If you feel like checking it out, the beta version can be downloaded here.