Cupertino, California  - Acrobat. com now offers Internet users a new platform through which they can edit documents, either alone or together with other users. The free service also offers Web conference services and file sharing, Adobe is reporting. The company is also announcing the ninth version of its Acrobat Reader PDF software.

Acrobat. com is currently available in an English-language public beta version. A version in other languages is scheduled to be released over the course of the summer, although no exact dates have been named. Adobe also announced that it will be available in its base version for free.

Only advanced functions will require a fee. Google offers a similar service called Google Docs. (dpa)