Unless you're a polyglot, the ballyhoo depicting the World Wide Web as a force majeure in the creation of the global community has just been a lot of hot air. So far, you could find multiple languages only on well-established sites or translate a site yourself using FreeTranslation.com or Alta Vista's SYSTRAN translator.

Technology that lets you participate in a chat room or trade instant messages with someone who speaks a different language has been, quite frankly, as realistic as flying cars. Now, several companies, including e-lingo.com, Lotus Ireland, and Multicity.com, are making cross-border communications a snap.

Lotus Ireland recently announced that it's developing a translation tool for its Sametime software line. Lotus Translation Services for Sametime (LTSS) will enable online communication between people who don't share a common language. Scheduled for release this fall, the Java-based application can deliver translated text during a chat session or an instant message in 17 languages. The software will initially target government agencies, global companies, Internet service providers, and other enterprises that communicate with individuals around the globe. The translator will do all the work, allowing virtual globe-trotters to type a message and send it anywhere in the world.

e-lingo, which is currently available (www.e-lingo.com), offers a multi-lingual search function and Web surfing as well as text and E-mail translation based on a per-transaction or monthly fee, or on a revenue-sharing model. With dictionaries provided by Transparent Language, e-lingo translates to and from English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. Japanese is slated to arrive this fall with Arabic, Chinese, Korean, and additional European languages to follow next year.

Multicity.com recently debuted private and public chat rooms that offer real-time translation. You can also add Multicity.com's chat features to your own Web site. Using SYSTRAN, the Java applet translates to and from six European languages (Japanese and Korean are coming soon) and displays both the original message and the translated message. Correspondents can choose the language they wish to send and receive messages. To give your own site a global spin, you can add a chat room. The service is free as long as you don't mind a little advertising. If you'd like to keep advertisments to a minimum, you can select a monthly payment plan. -- WH

© 2000 ZD Inc. All Rights Reserved.