Win a Free MacBook Pro via Twitter, Courtesy of … Microsoft?

Apple may have skipped the 2010 Macworld Expo, but Microsoft not only showed up, but made a splash with their highly visible promotions for Microsoft Office 2011.

Now, Microsoft is trying to outApple Apple on their own turf again: they’re giving away two 15” MacBook Pros, custom-colored and bearing Microsoft Office 2008 insignia.

According to Microsoft’s promotional site, Mac Office Loves You, there are two Twitter-centric ways to win one of the 2.53 GHz MacBook Pros, accompanied by copies of Microsoft Office 2008: you can follow @officeformac or “Retweet @OfficeforMac and include the hashtag #officeformac. Only one retweet will be counted per person.” The contest ends at 11:59pm PST on February 25th.

All of this bears a lesson for Twitterers: if you want to build up a big Twitter following fast, it can’t hurt to give away some expensive computers: @officeformac’s first Tweet was on February 1st, but the account already has more than 8,000 followers.

(h/t TUAW)