Don't Like My English? Try Me In Portuguese (and Eleven Other Languages) With Windows Live Translator!

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This is the coolest thing I've seen in quite awhile..

Microsoft Server and Tools (the group that brings you, among others, the MSDN, TechNet, Expression, and CodePlex sites) is leveraging the latest translation technology from Windows Live and Microsoft Research teams to bring you Windows Live Translator.

Windows Live Translator is a web application capable of translating English web pages or text snippets into any one of the supported language (currently German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and Netherlands Dutch).

This is especially cool since I'm heading to TechEd 2008 EMEA in about six weeks!

The Translator Add-in can be added to any web page (yes, you can add this capability to your page too!) and makes it very easy for visitors to quickly translate the page into one of the supported languages. The translated text is displayed side-by-side with the original web page, and there are other display options available.

You'll notice the Translator on the left hand side of the blog, between the News and Archives sections. If you can't wait to scroll down, here's a sneak preview of what's there:

Just select the language you'd like to translate the page to from the drop down menu, click the Translate this page icon, and you're off and running.

I know there are many people reading this blog for whom English is not a first language (the uncharitable among you might put me in that category). I'd be especially interested in hearing about your experiences with this new facility.

As always, thanks for reading!

     -wp