Microsoft takes aim at Intuit with 'Magellan' by Alorie Gilbert

Microsoft is cooking up a new version of its Office productivity package in a bid to unseat Intuit as the king of small-business accounting software.

The new Office product, code-named Magellan, features more sophisticated business accounting and contact management applications than the standard version. Microsoft plans to release a beta version of the product on Monday for testing and expects to fully introduce the final product in about one year.

Magellan will be Microsoft's second edition of its Office suite for small businesses, a market segment the company has increasingly focused on. Last year, the company launched Office Small Business Edition 2003 for $449, and it plans to continue selling it alongside the newer product, a Microsoft representative said.

The company has not yet set a price for Magellan.

Microsoft is loading up Magellan with more advanced features, including an accounting package developed by Microsoft Business Solutions, which builds business-efficiency applications. Magellen also will feature a contact manager, a component of the company's Outlook e-mail program that keeps detailed information about customer accounts.