To correct the above. Microsoft offer free versions of Word and Powerpoint to enable viewing of files in doc and ppt format but do not enable any other functionality.
Consider Tesco software which is compatible or Open Office as advised.
Only Word Viewer is free and you can download it from the MS website.
An alternative is to use Wordpad which comes with all versions of Windows (look in accessories) as it can display Word (.doc) documents. Wordpad saves files as Rich Text (.rtf) but they can also be read by Word.
As others have said, Open Office is becoming the de facto free MS Office download. However, there is a 'new' kid on the block in Lotus Symphony - they even give help in switching from MS Office. (You could also check out Google's on-line packages).
Switching to Lotus Symphony is easy.
Check out our reference cards to learn how easy it is to switch from Microsoft� Word�, Microsoft� PowerPoint�, or Microsoft� Excel�.