(Image courtesy of AppleInsider)

Microsoft is one of the many vendors at this year’s Macworld Expo in San Francisco this week, and they’re showing off the forthcoming Office for Mac 2011.

Due later this year, Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 will bring co-authoring tools, web apps and a redesigned ribbon interface that more closely matches the Windows version, according to AppleInsider.

"Together with your team -- officemates, family or classmates -- you are part of the community that helps shape each version of Office for Mac," said Eric Wilfrid, MacBU general manager at Microsoft Corp. "You’ve told us that working together across platforms is a priority to you and that’s why we are making Office for Mac 2011 the best, most compatible productivity suite on the Mac."

The co-authoring tools in Office for Mac 2011 will allow multiple users to work on Word, PowerPoint or Excel documents from different locations. Real-time updates using the “Presence Everywhere” feature show who is working on the document, right within the application. Microsoft’s web apps can also be accessed from within Office 2011, which allows users to share their documents from any machine with an Internet connection.

If you’re a longtime Office user who fears that Microsoft’s addition of a ribbon layout will completely change the layout of your software similar to what happened with the Windows version, fear not. Microsoft says that Office 2011 gives you “the best of both worlds” by using both the classic Mac menu as well as the standard toolbar.

"Together these tools make it easy to find and discover new and frequently used commands," Microsoft said in a press release. "In fact, more than 80 percent of the most used features live in the default view of our new user experience so you don't have to waste time finding the tool you need."

Pricing for the updated Office for Mac 2011 has not been announced yet, and Microsoft has also stated their interest in bringing Office to the iPad at some point in the future.