AbiWord is an excellent free open source alternative to MS Word.

Easy to install and operate on many operating systems Abiword is a perfect choice for someone on the look out for a new word processing program. Import files from Word, OpenOffice, Word Perfect, HTML, text and other file types. This is a perfect program if you are on the run as well. Small enough to load onto and run from a flash drive, take it with you and work on your documents on most any computer. Whether you’re working on a Mac or a PC you will have access to your important documents without a lot of hassle or fuss. For those less technically inclined there are plenty of help and FAQ resources both on the official Abiword website and elsewhere on the web. The included help files can ease you through importing your documents, exporting them to your email and setting the preferences to your liking. Regardless of your technical know-how you’ll be up and running quickly. Are you a developer? It’s great for you too. Find bugs, use it as a learning tool. You can even find a project to assist on. Great for budding developers to get some hands on working knowledge. Overall this is an excellent program for everyone from the basic user who just wants to write a document without any hassles to experienced developers with a need for a new project.