Take Offline

See http://techrepublic.com.com/2100-10877_11-5728536.html?tag=search

MS says the next version of Office will default to saving in XML format. They will have a "converter" available for installation on Office 2000 and 2003 so those users can open the new files. You can be sure they won't write one for good-ol'-but-unsupported O97.