Adobe Systems Incorporated has announced the preview release of Acrobat.com Presentations, available for free sign-up as a public beta on Adobe Labs.

Acrobat.com Presentations provides a rich, engaging presentation application built on the Adobe Flash Platform.

The software builds on the Acrobat.com set of hosted services, including Adobe Buzzword and Adobe ConnectNow, by making it easy for virtually anyone to create professional-looking presentations online. The application includes built-in tools and layouts for adding visually appealing elements, such as pre-defined colour sets, intelligent image placement and graphic tools for creating diagrams and adding effects.

Users can enhance their presentations with visual special effects, slide transitions and embedded videos that can be accessed by anyone with Adobe Flash Player, which is installed on 98 percent of Internet-connected desktops worldwide.

Acrobat.com Presentations lets people work together on a presentation, all contributing at the same time or separately, regardless of where they are located. Now, there is no need to search for the latest version or combine multiple copies in order to capture everyone's changes. With simultaneous editing capabilities, no one is locked out of the presentation while others are making changes.

The application also makes it easy to see who has access to the presentation, who is viewing, who is editing and which slide each person is editing. Because the presentation lives online, people can access the latest version from any Internet-connected computer and deliver the presentation from anywhere online via ConnectNow or offline by exporting to PDF.

Erik Larson, director of marketing and product management, Adobe's Business Productivity Business Unit said "By adding Acrobat.com Presentations to our existing set of hosted services, our customers will be able to extend the experience of creating and collaborating on documents into the visual world of presentations. Buzzword has helped people - from office workers and creative professionals to educators and students - express and share their ideas, and we are excited to see what our customers will do as they work together using Acrobat.com Presentations."