Contrary to what other Microsoft executives have been saying, Bill Gates stated in an interview that the next version of Office (currently referred to as Office 12) will ship in "early 2006" according to an eWEEK article published today.

"Gates' suggestion that Office could ship in early 2006 goes against what other Office executives have said. Chris Capossela, the corporate vice president of the Information Worker division at Microsoft, told attendees at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference earlier this year that the first Office beta would be made available to a small group of several thousand this fall, followed by a far larger second beta, which will be made available to a million or so users next spring. The final product will ship in the second half of 2006, he said."

Gates made the comments earlier today while addressing partners and customers at the Business Summit.