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'Developing a high-quality virtualisation solution, such as Virtual PC, for the Intel-based Mac is similar to creating a version 1.0 release due to how closely the product integrates with Mac hardware,' Microsoft's Mac Business Unit said in a statement.

Instead Mac users wishing to run Windows will have to rely on Apple's Boot Camp, or third-party applications from Parallels or VMWare, which has just announced the imminent release of an OS X version of its virtualisation software.

'The Mac BU still recognises that customers continue to need access to Windows applications from their Intel-based Macs, and feels confident that alternative solutions offered by Apple and other vendors, combined with a fully packaged retail copy of Windows, will satisfy this need,' the MacBU statement said.

The MacBU also said that it will be discontinuing support of Visual Basic scripting in the next version of Office for Mac, but said it is working hard to increase

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support for OS X scripting environments such as AppleScript and Automator and stressed that cross-platform compatibility remains a top priority.

'As we develop the next version of Office for Mac, the files will continue to be compatible across platforms, including 2007 Microsoft Office system for Windows,' the statement said.

'Although VB macros within files will not be accessible and cannot be viewed or modified, the files themselves can be edited without affecting or changing the macros,' it continued, adding that the MacBU will provide third-party developers with the necessary resources for making the transition to other scripting technologies.

Apple and Microsoft announced in January that they had sealed a new five-year agreement under which the Mac Business Unit will continue to develop a version of Office for the Mac. Although not Intel native, the current Office 2004 version, with the exception of Virtual PC, will run in the new Macs' Rosetta environment, and according to at least one report its performance does not suffer from the Rosetta emulation.

Generally there has been a new Mac Office every two years, with the corresponding Windows upgrades appearing in the alternate years, although the new Windows version is not due until 2007 four years since the last release.

As MacBU general manager Roz Ho said in January: 'We typically deliver new versions every two to three years, as this time frame is when the majority of customers are ready for new productivity software. Moving to universal binaries will naturally impact our schedule...'