Adobe Systems Inc.'s Acrobat software, long popular as a way to share, print and archive documents, is getting a Web 2.0 makeover, as the graphics software maker prepares to challenge Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. in the online office arena.

On Monday, Adobe is launching a public beta of an upcoming hosted collaboration service called Acrobat.com. Components include a Web-based word processor named Buzzword, which Adobe acquired last fall; the company claims that it produces more-polished-looking documents than other online word processors, such as Google Docs.

Also part of the Acrobat.com service are ConnectNow, a lower-end version of the Acrobat Connect Web conferencing service that Adobe debuted along with Acrobat 8 two years ago, and a 5GB online file repository from which users can share documents with other Buzzword users while maintaining some degree of access control.

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