Google is opening up yet another front in its battle with Microsoft by backing a competitor to Bill Gates' dominant Office software package.

The internet search and advertising company is set to hire programmers to improve OpenOffice, a freely distributed "open source" alternative to products including Word, Microsoft's massively popular word processor, it was revealed today.

Microsoft and Google are already battling head-to-head in fields including internet search, instant messaging and e-mail.

"We want to hire a couple of folks to help make OpenOffice better," Chris DiBona, manager for open-source programs at Google, told news.com, the industry website.

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