Microsoft is currently preparing the final touches on its upcoming offer for selling its Office software suite. The change takes out the company’s old one-time license fee and presents customers with a new subscription model.

The service will be called Microsoft Equipt but is also known under the code-name Albany and will provide users with all the needed updates for their security software, Office applications and Windows Live online services.

"With Microsoft Equipt, we're improving our customers' computing experience by giving them essential software in a package that offers an easy install and setup experience, as well as a convenient and affordable way to stay updated with the latest versions of Office and Windows Live OneCare," said Bryson Gordon, group product manager for Office, as quoted by InternetNews.

Microsoft announced that the official price is set at $69.99 a year and its features will be able to cover as many as three computers. The subscription model will enable customers to immediately receive the freshest updates and also the latest versions of the software.

The package will include Office Home and Student 2007, which retails for $149.95, and it will also feature a free subscription to the company’s OneCare malware protection service, which retails, when sold separately, for $49.95 a year. The plan is to attract as many customers as possible, offering a low price and also a useful and complete package. OneCare’s anti-malware and antivirus subscription service is very likely to appeal to many, as besides its useful applications, by acquiring it with Microsoft Equipt, it will be available for far less than what other companies charge. The company is aware that not many computer owners truly care about the authenticity of their Office copy but are very interested in owning an original and dependable security software.

"Security is basically the No. 1 thing that gets attached with a PC," said Microsoft group product manager Bryson Gordon, according to Cnet News.

Besides offering the complete Office and OneCare features, Microsoft will also include in the subscription free updates for the Office suite, covering Word 2007, PowerPoint 2007, OneNote 2007 and Excel 2007. In order to benefit from this service, users will have to consistently pay their annual fees. Other add-ons which will be found in Equipt are the Microsoft Windows Live services Live Photo Gallery, Live Mail and Live Messenger, which even though are already available for free, having them all in one place will surely not hurt.

Equipt will be sold exclusively through Microsoft’s partner Circuit City, in more than 600 of the dealer’s stores. Circuit City is one of the largest American retailers, selling electronics, entertainment software and personal computers. The company operates about 670 Superstores in the United States with an additional 800 retail stores and outlets in Canada. Two months ago, popular video retailer Blockbuster announced its intensions of acquiring Circuit City, with an offer of $1 billion but less than a month later decided against it, as after careful analysis, it wasn’t considered to be the best possible business move for Blockbuster’s share holders.