1&1 Internet has partnered with Zoho to launch a new online office for customers of its web hosting services.

The new service, 1&1 Online Office, is being rolled out to new and existing customers with registered 1&1 email addresses. Using the suite, customers can create, share, store and edit files using word processing (1&1 Writer), spreadsheet (1&1 Sheet) and presentation (1&1 Show) apps.

The tools, which are compatible with Microsoft Office, are designed to help business travellers access and edit documents when away from the office. They could come in handy when using hotel PCs that don’t have a full office suite installed, for example.

As well as viewing files stored on a thumb drive or received via email, 1&1 Online Office allows users to store files online, with each account including 2GB of storage space. 1&1 said all files are SSL encrypted and password protected.

A number of competitors are offering web-based office suites of their own - most prominently Google, but even Microsoft is getting in on the act.

The most striking addition to Microsoft’s new office suite, Office 2010, is the introduction of Office Web Apps - lightweight versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote that are all accessible via desktop, mobile devices, and web browsers.

Oliver Mauss, CEO of 1&1 Internet, said the benefit of using the company’s online office suite over competitors offerings is better integration with the 1&1’s other web hosting and email services. “Online Office provides the secure means to retrieve, edit and share files effectively,” he said.