According to a report by CNET News.com, the Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft and the Finland-based Nokia would likely announce a partnership on Wednesday, whereby Nokia’s best-selling smartphones would support the mobile version of the Microsoft Office software.

Though there has been no official disclosure about the supposed Nokia-Microsoft partnership, it is reported that Microsoft has sent out invitations for a Wednesday morning joint press conference in New York. The conference will be led by Stephen Elop, President of Microsoft Business Division, and Kai Oistamo, Executive VP for Nokia Devices.

The strategic alliance with Nokia would give a significant boost to Microsoft’s role in mobile devices, and strengthen its Office business against competition from free Web-based applications, like word processors and spreadsheets, from Google, Sun Microsystems and others.

The recent Nokia-Microsoft deal – after Microsoft licensed its ActiveSync e-mail push technology to Nokia last year - indicates that the ‘once rivals’ have decided to work together for combating mutual threats. Both the companies have been somewhat struggling in the wake of new technologies like Apple’s iPhone, RIM’s BlackBerry and Google’s Android. 

Commenting on the Nokia-Microsoft alliance, independent analyst Jack Gold said that “getting more tightly involved” with each other would help Nokia “move upstream beyond just smartphones and into other device types,” and help Microsoft “expand its franchise of productivity apps to other platforms.”