It appears Microsoft is making another preemptive strike this week (last week’s was the Zune price cut right before the new iPod launch event), this time to drastically cut the price of Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate Edition to students right before Google is set to announce some new features in their own suite of office applications.

In what ends up being a massive 91% discount, Microsoft will be offering the product to students for just $60 – this package normally costs $680! While it is only for students, one can’t help but think this is at least in some way an acknowledgment that Microsoft is worried about Google’s free offerings in this arena.

Not to compare Microsoft to a drug dealer, but they do seem to be following a similar mantra here in “getting them hooked early” – as in when they’re still in school by dishing out 91% price breaks. And while Microsoft Office is far from a drug, it has proven to be a deceptively hard habit to break (just ask any of the Mac users who have been using the same non-Universal Office 2004 for the past 3+ years despite numerous other options, including ones from Apple).

Microsoft even managed to make their own Web 2.0-y site for the promotion. Well played Microsoft. Well played.