Hi,
I am a first time mac user and have leopard on my computer...I haven't even opened it yet (i got it as a present). I have been using pc's my whole life and just had a laptop with vista on it..I am in love with microsoft word and need it in my computer. I hear that you can use word on leopard as well....but i have the vista version of word....do i need to buy office 2008 to get word on my mac....I have NO IDEA where to begin...please help...what do/and how do i install it so that i can have word on my macbook.......

You don't need the caps in your title.

The Windows version will not work on your Mac, you will need the OS X version of Office. Their files though are 100% compatible with each other, so you can work on one in Windows and then take it over to OS X and continue working on it.

I have not installed it myself, but there are 2 ways things install in OS X. One of them is just like Windows, you double click an installer, and hit next a few times. The other much more common way is to just drag the icon from the mounted install disk to anywhere on your computer (except the desktop) but typically you put them in the Applications folder just because it keeps things organized. Then double click on it in Applications and you are good to go.