If Wordpad is too basic, but Word is too expensive, Jarte might just be the answer.

Jarte is a free word processor that offers all the expected formatting and editing functions, along with numerous bonus features.

Among these are a tabbed interface for multiple documents, customisable background and colour screens, and a screen capture tool.

A Reference Bar provides you with an instant online lookup for words, using Merriam-Webster's online dictionary and thesaurus, and Britannica's online encyclopaedia.

Jarte can open files created with all versions of Word (up to Word 2000) and can save in Word 95, RTF or plain text formats. This may seem a little basic, but is actually all the majority of people will need.