Microsoft working on technology to promote Arabic online

Global software giant Microsoft is working on translation technology that would make the Arabic language more accessible to Internet users, according to Qatar's daily The Peninsula.“We’re deeply investing into that,” the newspaper quotes Anoop Gupta, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Unlimited Potential Group, as saying. He said Microsoft was developing translation technology that would translate web pages in English into Arabic. It is also modifying search engines to make the language of the Arab world more accessible globally.

Gupta also emphasised the need to ensure that people in the Arab world become great digital citizens, so that they become a part of the digital revolution. This would ensure more Arabic content on the internet, he added.

The Microsoft official applauded the developments in Qatar, where many citizens are already blogging on the Internet everyday and exploring new websites. He said students in Qatar were also improving accessibility to Arabic language by doing their projects on the internet in Arabic, the daily said.

Mohammad Mammoudi, Country Manager of Microsoft Qatar, told the Qatari newspaper that the company had already introduced a Language Interface Programme which helps in making available tools in Arabic.

Besides Qatar, Microsoft has also established an Innovation Center in Egypt which specialises in identifying ways of improving Internet search in Arabic and encouraging better participation of the Arabic community in the internet phenomenon, according to The Peninsula.