IBM will offer help desk service for its Symphony line of software, raising the competition with rival Microsoft Corp's suite of Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

The programs from International Business Machines Corp have been available for free on its Web site since September 2007, but businesses can now buy contracts for help desk support for a flat fee of $25,000 per year, IBM said on Tuesday.

Companies and home users that don't want that support can continue to obtain the word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software for free.

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