Mountain bike good for the road?

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I know it sounds like a ridiculous question, but can anyone give advice on a model that might be good on the road as well as decent on a trail?
I have a mountain bike and my wife would like to go with me on occassion, but she also would probably prefer to ride in the neighborhood more often simply for exercise. Since a road bike cannot be used in the mountains, but a mountain bike can be used on the road, and I cannot afford 2 bikes, then a mountain bike seems like the right choice. I'm just wondering if there are some mountain bikes that are better suited for mountain and road. I'm looking in the $550 range but would probably scan craigslist before I ever spent that much for a new bike. Thanks for anyones help.

Get thee to a local bike shop and talk to the salesmen. You will find there is a whole world in between mountain and road.

Look at getting a hyrbrid bike.

I would suggest looking at a cyclo-cross bike.

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm heading to a bike shop today!

specialized crossttrail maybe?,

specialized crossttrail maybe?,
Any hardtail should do the job. Can't imagine she'll be flying over any rough tracks at much faster than jogging pace so there should be no need for rear suspension

Any hardtail should do the job. Can't imagine she'll be flying over any rough tracks at much faster than jogging pace so there should be no need for rear suspensionthe crosstrail i looked at didn't have rear suspension (http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=21925 ), but your probably right with it being overkill.

Who knows, maybe she'll want to get off the road a bit after she has a taste. Why not a mountain bike with non-knobby tires, like Conty Town and Country? That way, you have the best of both worlds.