Microsoft is set to begin a pilot of a new Genuine Advantage anti-piracy mechanism for Office that will add a "nag-like" feature, akin to what is now part of Windows Vista, to Office.
Office already currently includes an Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) validation mechanism (for Office XP and Office 2007), but Microsoft doesn"t do a whole lot to "punish" those it deems to be running non-Genuine versions of Office. However, as part of a new OGA notifications pilot program — which Microsoft is launching in Chile, Italy, Spain and Turkey, according to an April 8 announcement buried in a Q&A on Microsoft"s Web site — Microsoft is set to turn up the unpleasantness a notch.