US dotcoms plot European course

A host of US dotcom companies descended on Internet World in Los Angeles this week to show off their wares, with several outlining their strategies to try to conquer Europe.

Tranparent Language demonstrated its online real-time machine translation application, which runs on its website, www.freetranslation.com. The tool translates up to 2000 words free of charge.

The company also unveiled an enterprise translation server that translates entire web pages into a number of European languages as quickly as they are loaded. While occasional users can select their language of choice, regular visitors to the site can stipulate their preference for future reference.

The system supports most major European languages, including English, Spanish, French, German and Italian, and translation software for Asian languages will be available soon. It runs on Windows NT and Unix, but can't translate text within graphics.

Elsewhere, real-time alert delivery specialist RealCall has teamed up with web portal designer GiantBear.com to target European content providers that want to deliver services through traditional and Wap-based phones. Web content providers will be able to alert consumers to instant news about their financial, sports or auction interests using text-to-speech and audio streaming services.

In Europe, RealCall has teamed up with UK-based sports gaming site Sporting Index to enable subscribers to listen to horse races as they happen.

Content delivery specialist Akamai also launched its Traffic Analyser and Reporter tools for website providers to evaluate the effectiveness of their media content in real time or based on historical information.

The company said its technology speeds up web content delivery by up to 10 per cent by distributing it across its 2750 network of servers worldwide.

Finally, online billing services provider OpenAir.com said it now supports most European currencies and tax policies. The startup provides individuals and small businesses with hosted financial services, including billing, expense reporting and invoicing. Users can access their records from any web browser and remote members of projects can share one account.