Screwy font display issues under size 10 type (Mac/PC)

Given the nature of the problem, I think it's probably a Mac issue and not a PowerPoint or PC issue...
I'm working in PowerPoint on both the Mac and PC. Latest versions of PPT for both platforms, so I'm using the .pptx file format. I've got a footnote on my slides that started out as size 8 Arial. My Windows XP Pro box (SP3) displays this just fine in PowerPoint 2007. My MacBook Pro displays it just fine on PowerPoint 2008 and in Windows XP Pro (SP3) under XP in Parallels.
It does not display appropriately on my client's computers, all of which are Macs running Leopard (10.5.8) and PowerPoint 2008. It looks crunched and garbled on-screen, but it prints fine. Arial at larger sizes (10 +) displays and prints as expected. It seems to just be size 8 or smaller.
I read a MS MVP reply on a thread elsewhere that suggested that Arial for the PC and Arial for the Mac aren't really the same font (thank you, Microsoft). So, I tried changing to other fonts that are supposedly standard on both platforms. Trebuchet MS and Times New Roman also display the same problem. Anything size 8 or smaller has the same display error on my client's machines, which I cannot reproduce on my PC installations or my own MacBook Pro which also runs 10.5.8.
I can replicate the error on an older desktop Mac running 10.4.11, though.
What am I missing? How can I work around this? I'm cool with any legible standard font, but given the requirements of my project it's got to be about size 8 to fit reasonably in the space I have for footnotes.
Thanks in advance!

I'm not sure. They're on a mix of desktop and laptop systems, from what I've seen. I've seen something similar to what they report on my desktop Mac, which is running a 23" Apple Cinema display under 10.4.11, but not my MacBook Pro's 15" screen.
Their IS group recommended trying Verdana instead of Arial. It looks a little better on my desktop Mac. I'm waiting for the client's review of my latest test file to see how it appears on their end.
Thanks!

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