SEATTLE (Reuters) - Canadian software maker Corel Corp. COR.TO CORL.O said on Tuesday that Gateway Inc. GTW.N became the latest PC maker to begin offering its WordPerfect Office software instead of Microsoft Corp.'s MSFT.O dominant Office software.

With computer prices falling, the cost of adding Microsoft's Office word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software in some cases makes up more than half the original cost of a $600 PC, analysts have said.

Hardware makers looking for alternatives for cost-conscious consumers have turned to the Corel, whose applications once had substantial market shares until Microsoft, the world's No. 1 software maker, came along.

PC makers Dell Computer Corp. DELL.O , Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ.N and Sony Corp. 6758.T have also adopted Corel's software this year.

Gateway, the U.S. personal computer maker struggling to return to profit, said it will begin offering Corel's WordPerfect and Quattro Pro programs on its 300 S series desktops.

For the year, however, Corel is down by more than a half with its shares closing at C$1.31 on Tuesday, compared to levels above C$3 in January.