Microsoft Live Search has rolled out a new translation feature in its search results. The feature is available through Live Search, IE8, the Windows Live Toolbar, and a translation bot for Windows Live Messenger.
You can use the feature through a “Translate this page” link at the end of some search results. The link appears to only be on foreign language results, so if you are using an English language version of Live Search, you won’t see it for most results unless you specifically search for something in a foreign language (this doesn’t include Ocho Cinco).
When you click the link, you are taken to a page that provides a split-screen look at the same page in both languages, where you are provided with more translation options. You can switch to different views as well as type in a specific URL to translate.
Like most online translation services, there are some accuracy issues. For example, when I tried to translate the front page of murdok from English to Chinese Simplified, it changed a headline from “NBC Decides Not to Miss Out On the Apple Pie” to “NBC you decide not to Miss out on the Apple foot”. Admittedly, I am not fluent in Chinese, but something tells me that is not right.
The languages it translates are as follows:
English to/from:
– Arabic
– Chinese Simplified
– Chinese Traditional
– Dutch
– French
– German
– Italian
– Japanese
– Korean
– Portuguese
– Russian (Russian to English only)
– Spanish
and Chinese Simplified to/from Chinese Traditional.
Microsoft says it will offer more languages in the coming months. The whole thing is a response to an increase in non-English speaking Internet users, they say. They want to give these users “an entire world of information can now actually be at their fingertips.”
