Online translator launched as Yahoo service

Yahoo has launched a translation webpage that brings the Babelfish service under the search engine's own brand.

Babelfish was initially developed by Altavista, which has since been acquired by Yahoo. The service is powered by Systran's translation software.

Yahoo aims to give the service a prominent position because the internet is increasingly made up of information in languages other than English.

"We have reached a turning point where over half the pages on the web are in non-English," Tomi Poutanen, senior director of international product management at Yahoo, said. "That drives the importance of translation services."

Yahoo also plans to add a translation button to its toolbar, allowing users to view a translation of a web page with a single click. Users were able to manually add the button to the tool bar, but it will become a standard option.

The new webpage also will provide users in Germany and France with access to the Translated Search feature that has been available as a beta in those markets since last summer.

It allows users to search foreign language websites in their native tongue and view a translated version of the sites.

A search for the keywords 'guerre civil' (civil war) on Yahoo France, for instance, will list the American Civil War Homepage as the top result.

Users clicking on the result are presented with a translated version of the webpage, or can choose to view the English original.