A Santa Monica technology company is behind the latest innovation at Microsoft Corp.

Docstoc announced Tuesday that it will begin selling templates for legal and business documents through Microsoft Office. It is the first time that customers will be able to buy documents – such as non-disclosure agreements and promissory notes – through Microsoft Office.

“We’re most excited about helping Microsoft turn Microsoft Office into a distribution channel to sell content,” said DocStoc Chief Executive Jason Nazar. “We want to help them validate that strategy.”

Currently, 10 of Docstoc’s document templates are for sale to Office users. It costs $25 to download each of those documents for one-time use. Other DocStoc documents can be downloaded for free.

Docstoc has also created a Web app that runs within the newest version of Microsoft Office to allow customers to access Docstoc’s full suite of online documents for a monthly subscription fee.

Since launching in 2007, DocStoc has created more than 12,000 templates and forms. It also claims a customer base of more than 30 million registered members who use both the free and premium services.