Microsoft announced on Wednesday that the beta of Office 2010 is now publicly available from the company's Website http://www.microsoft.com/2010 and from CNET Download.com.

Among the features new to the beta is a social networking connector that allows users to bring in Windows Live and other social networking feeds into Outlook. LinkedIn is the first that will take advantage of it--early next year--but there is a software development kit for others to do so.

Office 2010 is due out in final form in the first half of next year.