Microsoft is prepping a version of its Office productivity software to run on Apple's iPad, according to The Daily.
The iPad-based news outlet, citing "sources," reported that Microsoft is working to adapt Office for Apple's tablet. The app could arrive before the next version of Office for Mac, which is expected to debut late next year.
Microsoft didn't comment directly on the report.
"We already deliver Office on multiple platforms and devices and are committed to expanding in the future, but have nothing further to share today," the company said in a statement.
Microsoft already offers a handful of apps for both the iPad and the iPhone, including Bing and Windows Live Messenger, among others. Creating Office for the iPad could help the device's prospects in work environments, a market where it's already making inroads at the expense of Windows PCs.
Microsoft is also busily working on Windows 8, the next version of its flagship operating system, for tablet computers. It has yet to disclose details about a touch-version of Office that will run on those devices.
Apple introduced its own office software, iWork, as individual apps for the iPad in March of last year. That suite consists of Pages, Keynote and Numbers, the same lineup Apple offers Mac OS X users. All three of those apps can open and export Microsoft Office files that match up with Microsoft's Word, PowerPoint and Excel software, with Apple providing ways to natively view those files in its own built-in e-mail application.
The Daily reported that the Office for iPad app would likely cost $10, the same amount Apple charges for each of its individual iWork for iPad apps.
