Microsoft: Office 2010 will be public

A company spokesperson said that the company would indeed follow its regular development system and allow the public to get their hands on working beta copies of the office suite.

"Although we are not disclosing a date for the public beta, there definitely will be one, this development cycle for Office is no different than years past," the spokesperson said.

"In Q3 of this year Office 2010 will enter technical preview, which is an invite-only program and this will be followed by a public beta where millions can get and try out Office."

Microsoft's statement on the matter came shortly after word broke that the upcoming version of Office would not allow for a public beta.

The 2010 release of Office is set to be the first major update for the company's iconic productivity suite since Office 2007 was released alongside Windows Vista in January of 2007.

Like its predecessor, development of Office 2010 is taking place as Microsoft readies its next version of Windows. The company is expected to release the first release candidates for Windows 7 in May and possibly ship a final version by the fourth quarter of this year.