According to reports, developers have completed the first phase of a Microsoft-sponsored open source project to create software that can convert Microsoft Word documents between Open XML and OpenDocument Format (ODF) for Office Applications file formats.

The software, the Open XML Translator, which is now available for free download in version 1.0, allows Microsoft Word documents based on Open XML to be translated into ODF and vice versa. And once downloaded, it can be used as a plug-in for Microsoft Office 2007, the documents of which are based on Open XML.

The Translator may also be plugged into competing word processing programs that use ODF as the default format to open and save documents in Open XML.

Speaking on the occasion, Tom Robertson, General Manager - Interoperability and Standards, Microsoft, said, "We believe in delivering interoperability by design, in this case, by working with partners and members of the open source community, we have achieved that goal. The translator project has been built to be independent of any one application, and has proved to be useful for both Microsoft and our competitors in solving an interoperability challenge for customers."

The 1.0 release of the Translator supports the current industry-standard document formats of both Open XML and ODF. Besides, it has been tested on Microsoft Office 2007, Office 2003, and Office XP, and has been localized into Dutch, French, German, and Polish.

Meanwhile, the second phase of the Translator project, including Translators for Spreadsheet (Microsoft Office Excel) and Presentation (Microsoft Office PowerPoint), will begin sometime this month.

Regular customer technology previews will be posted to SourceForge.net beginning May this year, and the final versions are scheduled to be available for customers in November this year.