Think you can break into the world of professional news photography? Here is your chance to make a few bucks on the side if you spot a celebrity on the lark in Bermuda, or if another hurricane hits you.

Spy Media International?s automated news photo exchange offers professionals and ordinary snappers the chance to upload and hopefully sell their best shots online. The site links buyers and sellers news photos.

Photographers can upload to www.spymedia.com from their computers or phones and set their own prices.

The photos can be bought by businesses, news organisations or other individuals from anywhere in the world. Generally Spy Media is looking for photos in the categories of ?entertainment?, ?historical?, ?news event?, ?sports? and ?natural disasters?. Purchase rights can be ?exclusive?, meaning you give the buyer all rights to the photo.

You can also limit exclusivity to 30 days. A non-exclusive agreement gives buyers use of the photo for 12 months in publications. Those selling photos will eventually have to pay Spy Media a commission. However, for now the selling is free during the company?s introductory period.

There?s not much money involved, but it is a start for anyone looking to get in the game. Even seemingly ordinary photos may be of interest to publications. Currently the most profitable photo listed on the site is of elaborate Halloween decorations on someone?s lawn. The photo has grossed $40 for the taker so far.

The most expensive photo sold so far is one of Buckingham Palace. That went for $35.

The most popular photo on the site was sold three times. It is a shot of a ref and player talking during the latest San Jose Sharks vs. Dallas Stars hockey game.

There are a set of fine photos on the site, so hone up your skills and compete for publication with the rest of the world.

The latest news out of Microsoft land is the pending release of a new version of its Office suite for business users.

The company has notified potential testers that it expects to release the first beta version of Office 12 in the next few weeks. The company plans to issue the revamp?s final version during the second half of next year.

The focus is on improving what the company refers to as ?business intelligence? (BI).

?Where BI has previously lived outside of business processes, it can now be a part of all the processes, structured and unstructured, that occur in Office,? the company says in outlining its thinking. ?This integration can increase the overall value of BI by more closely aligning business information with decision-making and action.?

According to Microsoft, the new suite will simplify the process of accessing and working with business information.

Mainly this seems to mean that software such as the Excel spreadsheet and SharePoint will come with more features that encourage information sharing across a network.

Excel will be able to securely access, analyse and share information from data warehouses and enterprise applications.

The update will allow users to maintain a persistent connection between their Excel spreadsheet and the data source ? making it simpler to update to Excel spreadsheets and drill down to the next level of detail inside the individual spreadsheet.

The new features also include support for SQL Server 2005 analysis services and better charting features.

New server-side Excel capabilities, called Excel Services, will allow users to more effectively secure, share and manage spreadsheets on the server and allow them to be viewed via a Web browser or downloaded to the desktop.

The next generation of SharePoint will make it easy to build personalised dashboards that combine data and charts from several sources and to find key reports and spreadsheets via improved search capabilities, Microsoft says.

Analyst IDC says the BI market has grown at a 17 per cent compound annual rate over the last ten years, to reach $4.3 billion in worldwide software revenue. However, the vendors? primary focus has been on analysts and power users, the analyst states.

?During this period, Excel has remained the most widely used end-user tool for BI, but it has lacked the control needed for supporting enterprise-class decision-making and compliance processes,? IDC says.

?By integrating new BI functionality into Office and ensuring Office connectivity to the SQL Server platform, Microsoft has the potential to both broaden the use of BI by business users and provide IT staff with greater control over deployment and maintenance of the BI platform.?

The company has not released the pricing for the updated suite; but start saving up now.