Microsoft, Adobe in document showdown?

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Adobe Systems' Acrobat Reader software has become one of those rare birds in personal computing: a de facto standard that has nothing to do with industry giant Microsoft.

And Adobe, with more than 500 million copies of the software in circulation, hopes to keep it that way. The company's Acrobat software turns any document into a PDF (Portable Document Format) file, which can be read or printed from any device with the original formatting intact and all text secure from revision. Free Acrobat Reader software allows PC owners to view and print PDF documents.

Now, Adobe plans to expand the Portable Document Format behind Acrobat Reader into a multipurpose business tool over the coming months.

At the same time, however, Microsoft is moving ahead with plans for software that could nibble at the edge of Adobe's market.

Earlier this year, Microsoft announced plans for XDocs, an extension of its Office software intended to allow workers to easily create basic online forms. Initially hailed as a potential PDF killer, analysts have since cooled down. They now mostly see XDocs as potential competition for only part of Adobe's business.