Coach K. Wei, a Rich Internet Application (RIA) visionary and open standards advocate, has announced the open source release of AjaxWord, a full-featured word-processing application available in a completely Web-based AJAX environment. With AjaxWord, users can leverage an Internet (HTML) application using AJAX(DHTML/JavaScript) technology to obtain the look, feel and functionality of leading word-processing applications, such as Microsoft Word.

As one of the first Ajax-based applications, AjaxWord was written by Coach in 1999 and first offered on the Web as a free service in 2000. In 2005, the application was ported to a Java-based server environment and to newer version browsers, such as Internet Explorer 6, and is now fully available to the open source community. The application is available via an independent platform and operating system, and supports Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x, 5.x and 6.x on various Windows desktops. Additionally, AjaxWord can be accessed by multi-users and is personalized by offering users individual file storage independent from other users' files.

"The face of software is changing -- its future lies in rich Internet applications, which combine the functionality and performance of a local desktop with the economy and universal reach of the Web," said Coach Wei, AjaxWord creator. "I'm pleased to open source AjaxWord and to contribute to this evolution. With AjaxWord, users can experience first-hand how RIA technologies such as AJAX are changing the way the Web works, ultimately redefining the software industry."