This is good news for people who have no plans of upgrading to Office 2008!
Just don't forget, this is an early Beta, it ain't perfect folks

From the Microsoft Website: (LINK)


With the Office Open XML Converter, that you can convert Office Open XML files to a format that is compatible with Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac and Microsoft Office v. X for Mac. You can choose to convert and open one file, or convert a large number of files.
This version of the Office Open XML Converter can convert the following Office Open XML file formats:

• Word Document (*.docx)
• Word Macro-Enabled Document (*.docm)

These files are converted to Rich Text Format (RTF), which can be opened in Microsoft Word 2004 and Microsoft Word X.
The converter is a Beta release, and might be unable to convert all the data in Office Open XML files. After you convert a file, you should review the file carefully to make sure that it contains all of the information that you expect.
The following issues are known to exist in this Beta release:

• Macros and Visual Basic content are not included in the converted file.
• Charts and SmartArt graphics are converted to pictures.

Version 0.2 is now out:
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx
I hope its better than the first one.

I have been using docXconverter.

Still no .xlsx love.

I asked the people who make docXconverter a couple of questions:

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Q: docXconverter uses Rosetta to run the PPC code.
When will the Intel version be available?

A: We are working cross-platform with the Windows version and this is why we do not have an Intel version. Our plans are to complete the converter with Excel and PowerPoint with the same setting (this should take us a year to complete) and when we have a complete product on both platforms then to make an Intel product.

Q: Microsoft just released version 0.2 of their converter. How does yours compare?

A: How does our product compare to Microsoft: they had a lot of "unsupported features" in version 0.1 and are supporting more in version 0.2. From their release notes, I still think that our product is better. We also will release support for Excel 2007 in the coming month which they do not have for the moment. In addition our product runs on all Mac OS and theirs only on Mac OS 10.4.

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So, here's hoping M$ MacBU get it together soon and release THe Mac version of Office 2007 before 2008!

Bah! Let me know when they've decided to support ODF and then I'll get excited. This just makes me angry that they are seeking an ISO stamp on a format they can't even properly implement on their own software. How is anyone else supposed to create a complete implementation?

New version of iWork supports the new office file formats according to apple.