My articles are saved in lotus word format. Can I opened it under Microsoft word or " open office" software? If yes, how do I go about it?

I don't use Lotus, but if no one comes along with the answer, I'll help find it:
Which version of Lotus are you using? And what is the file extension of the Lotus Word file?

MS Word will import AmiPro/WordPro (Lotus' word proc I fo) but you may need to specifically install the translators. AmiPro will definitely Save As MS Word or RTF.

I don't know if Open Office supports the Lotus format.