Google released software Thursday to convert Office docs to Google Docs.

The plug-in software, called Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office, had been available in a test form since November and is now finished.

Cloud Connect allows multiple people to share and work together on Microsoft Office documents on the Web. It creates a Web version of Office docs that can be shared and edited with others.

"More people will be able to achieve a 100 percent Web future entirely in Google Docs after learning the benefits of web-powered collaboration within traditional software," said Shan Sinha, a Google Apps Product Manager, in a Google blog post. The new technology came out of Google's acquisition of DocVerse.

Google and Microsoft are competing to offer cloud versions of word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software. Microsoft has long dominated productivity software installed on computers with its Office franchise.

Google offers free Web versions of productivity software with Google Docs. Microsoft launched Office Web Apps, a free Web version of Office last year, to compete with Google Docs. This year, Microsoft is expected to launch Office 365, a subscription version to compete with Google's pay version, Google Apps. The pay versions target business customers who want more security and reliability.

The Google Cloud Connect software works with Office versions 2003, 2007 and 2010. It is not available for Mac versions of Office.

Microsoft released a statement Thursday on the Google news that said, "We're not sure Google's heart is in the productivity business. Their revenue and market share have been miniscule after four years of trying, and services like Cloud Connect appear to be more targeted at getting your data onto their servers, than helping you get things done."

Update 11:42 a.m.

The software is free and here is where you can download the Google Cloud Connect plug-in.

(Screenshot: Google)