Who Says You Can't Use Microsoft Word To Do XML?

MS Word is not an XML authoring tool, no matter what your IT team believes. While Word may indeed understand and use some XML, it doesn't use XML in the way technical communicators need it to. Instead, it uses XML to transfer information back and forth between MS Office products. Useful? Yes. XML authoring? Not even close.

Abel, Scott. TechCom Manager (2007). Articles>Writing>XML>Microsoft Word