At the OpenOffice.org (OO) Conference, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a long-term commitment to the OpenDocument Format (ODF) by unveiling a roadmap for the expansion of the free Lotus Symphony office application suite to MacIntosh, Ubuntu Linux, OpenOffice 3.0 and Microsoft Office customers.

Microsoft Corp. is offering customers greater choice and more flexibility among document formats, as well as creating additional opportunities for developer and competitors, by expanding the range of document formats supported in its flagship Office productivity suite.

IT managers at large organizations are increasingly interested in employing XML-based standards, including Open XML, among their document standards, according to a study of U.S. and European organizations commissioned by Microsoft Corp.