The Beta 2 release of various Microsoft Office 2003 applications - now collectively branded as Microsoft Office System - will publicly launch March 10, the company says, as part of the most extensive marketing program the Office team has ever offered.

Over 500,000 customers around the globe will be able to test Microsoft Office 2003 Beta 2, including the 2003 editions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Publisher, FrontPage, and introduces two new programs, InfoPath and OneNote. Also included are new releases of Windows SharePoint Services (formerly SharePoint Team Services) and various Microsoft hosted services. Technical betas for other Microsoft Office System products, including Visio and Project/Project Server, are also in the planning stages.