(28 May 2007 3:54 pm)

MUMBAI: Google has launched 'Translate', its new cross-language search feature that allows users across the world to find and view search results on foreign language web pages in their own native language.

This means, for example, that if an Arabic speaker is searching for restaurants in New York, he can now conduct a search in Arabic, and Google will translate the results (most of which are from English language websites) and provide the most relevant search results in their native language.

This new feature is available in the following languages: English, Arabic, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Traditional), and Chinese (Simplified).

The new translation service for search results is expected to be particularly popular outside of the United States and the United Kingdom because so much of the Internet's content is published in English.

With this initiative, Google is angling to sell more advertising in international markets and maintain the impressive financial growth that has driven a more than fivefold increase in its stock price in less than three years.

Google's family of websites, including online video pioneer YouTube.com, already attracts the world's largest audience, according to comScore Media Metrix.

According to American Technology Research analyst Rob Sanderson, Google collected $7.6 billion, or 72 per cent, of its 2006 revenue from sources in the United States and the United Kingdom. If the company had fared as well in other key markets around the world, he estimated Google would had generated an additional $4.9 billion to $8.7 billion in revenue last year.