Read Word Documents Without Using Word

Panergy has updated their application for opening and viewing Microsoft Word formatted files without the need for actually having the full Word or Office application, icWord, to version 1.2. icWord allows users to view Word files created in a number of languages, but also allows users to print those same files. According to Panergy:

The growing personal computer market outside of the United States, coupled with burgeoning global Internet usage, is compounding the familiar Mac user dilemma: How to move documents across platforms is being complicated by the need to access documents created in other languages. Panergyis icWord, the Microsoft Word viewer for the Mac, solved the first problem when it was introduced last year. The new release of icWord solves the second problem: Users can open, view, and print Microsoft Word documents created in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and other double-byte languages.

The launch of icWord 1.2 coincides with the release of new data from Nielsen/NetRatings and Ipsos-Reid that affirms the increasing importance of the Asia-Pacific region to the Internet economy. According to Ipsos-Reid, US Internet penetration is hitting a plateau, while the South Korean and Singapore markets are outpacing the European marketsi growth rate. Nielsen/NetRatings supports this with the finding that South Korea is now the worldis fourth largest Internet user base, with 22.3 million users. Taiwanis 10 million Internet users are also boosting Internet penetration in the Asia-Pacific region.

icWord is available for US$19.95. You can find more information at the icWord Web site.