by , 2:50 PM EDT, August 30th, 2006

OpenOffice, the free open source alternative to Microsoft Office, is expected to be available in a native Mac OS X version next month, in time for the Apple Expo in Paris. The software previously required OS X users to install the X11 Window System, which enables Unix software to run on the Mac.

The news was announced by the OpenOffice Mac OS X Porting Team on a blog run by team member Eric Bachard. OpenOffice grew out of Sun Microsystems' StarOffice. Version 2.0 is now available; it includes the Writer, Impress (PowerPoint), Math, Draw, Calc, and Base (Access) modules.

Thanks to Macworld UK for the heads-up.