12/02/96 HABLA USTED INTERNET? SI, CLARO

HABLA USTED INTERNET? SI, CLARO

WITH THE GROWTH AND USE of the Internet stemming principally from the U.S., it's no surprise that most Net data traffic--text files and E-mail, mainly--is in English. But as availability of the global conglomeration of computer networks spreads, Net surfers could be flooded with messages in different languages. Miami's Voice Pilot Technologies Inc. hopes to be one company with a solution to the impending Virtual Tower of Babel.
At the annual Comdex computer trade show in Las Vegas, the software company demonstrated its Global Automated Language Translator (GALT) software. Designed for PCs running IBM's OS/2 Warp 4 or Microsoft's Windows 95 operating systems, the software uses an enhanced version of IBM's VoiceType speech-recognition engine.
The idea is that if users want to send E-mail to someone in Latin America, they need only speak into their multimedia PCs. The PC records a voice file which GALT then translates into Spanish text before sending it out to the Internet. Any Spanish-based message sent in reply is translated instantly back into English.
Voice Pilot officials say that because the software uses speedy proprietary programming, GALT can be used for ''real-time'' translations--such as in an Internet chat room. What's more, Voice Pilot officials say that they're working on other versions for French, German, Russian, and Japanese languages, which should be available by early next year.
EDITED BY PAUL M. ENG