Does R support automation (OLE, COM)?
Directly, no. There is a (D)COM server written by Thomas Baier available on CRAN (http://cran.r-project.org/other-software.html) which works with Rproxy.dll (in the R distribution) and R.dll to support transfer of data to and from R and remote execution of R commands, as well as embedding of an R graphics window. An R-Excel interface making use of the (D)COM server is included in the distribution.