Today, the Google Docs team began launching offline access to English interface users. With Google Gears working behind the scenes, users will be able to view their docs lists and view and edit documents, all without an Internet connection. You can see it in action in this video starring Ken Norton, the Google Docs product manager.
While the initial launch is rolling out first to personal Google Docs users, it will launch later to Google Apps domains. If you're eager to have your Apps users try it out as early as possible, you can opt in your domain via the admin control panel (find out more in the Google Apps Help Center).
For more on this launch, check out the post on the Google Docs blog.