Microsoft Office 2010 will hit the retail shelves on June 15. At Technet, Microsoft announced that the free upgrade period starts today. This means that users who buy and activate Office 2007 from today will be able to download Office 2010 at no more cost when it becomes available in June 2010.

All you need to be eligible for this program — Office 2010 Technology Guarantee — is the following:

• Purchase Office 2007, or a new PC with Office 2007, and activate it between March 5, 2010 and September 30, 2010.
• Have, or create a Windows Live ID.
• Redeem your Tech Guarantee before October 31, 2010 by visiting www.office.com/techg.

The Microsoft Office 2010 upgrade will be delivered to the user as a download or by DVD for a fee.

Note: Not all retailers are part of the free Office 2010 upgrade program and that there is a limit of 25 upgrades per customer.

Upgrade Paths Available:

OFFICE 2007 QUALIFYING PRODUCT	OFFICE 2010 UPGRADE PRODUCT
Office Ultimate 2007	Office Professional 2010
Office Professional 2007	Office Professional 2010
Office Small Business 2007	Office Professional 2010
Office Standard 2007	Office Home and Business 2010
Office Home and Student 2007	Office Home and Student 2010
Office Basic 2007	Office Home and Business 2010
Word 2007	Word 2010
Excel 2007	Excel 2010
PowerPoint 2007	PowerPoint 2010
OneNote 2007	OneNote 2010
Access 2007	Access 2010
Outlook 2007	Outlook 2010
Outlook with Business Contact Manager 2007	Outlook 2010
Project Standard 2007	Project Standard 2010
Project Professional 2007	Project Professional 2010
Publisher 2007	Publisher 2010
Visio Standard 2007	Visio Standard 2010
Visio Professional 2007	Visio Professional 2010

*Office Standard 2007 Military Appreciation Edition will receive Office Home and Business 2010.

Eligible Languages:

Brazilian, Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English/International English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, Turkish

Note: The language of the qualifying Office 2007 purchase will decide the language of the Office 2010 product upgrade.

Check out the faq to read up on all the frequently asked questions. It is recommended to check with the retailer to get a confirmation whether the Microsoft Office 2007 copy is eligible for the free upgrade to Office 2010.