Will earlier Versions of Word like 2002 or 2003 play nice with Vista?

I ask this question because my son just got a new computer with Vista Home Edition Premium and he mentioned that though Word came with it, it was a watered down version of Word. If he didn't like it, he said he'd probably buy the latest Word and install it. (He hasn't gotten the computer up and running at this moment.)

I said that he could very likely find an earlier version of Word on the net for far, far less, just as I bought Works Suite 2003 (which contained Word 2002) for $20 or $30.

So my question is if he isn't happy with the Word he'll have with his Vista Home Edition Premium, will say a 2002 or 2003 or 2004 version work with his Vista?

Does someone have a definitive answer to this question?

I personally have not installed Office 2003 on Vista, but from what I have read at Paul Thurrott's site it should work fine.

I was running 2k3 on vista and it worked fine.

Thanks, Guys. I forwarded your answers to my son.

Depending on your son's status, he might qualify for the academic/student version of Office 2007... it might be similar price to Office2k3 Professional ;)

eBay, but ensure you get all the COA and correct license keys... if you ever purchase something believing it is legitimate, i think you can call Microsoft to verify. If it is proven wrong, then Microsoft should give you a new CD (they did this promotion a little while back)