New Google Chrome browser translates websites

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Google's new version of its web browser offer automatic translation of websites as well as enhanced privacy controls


Google has launched a new beta version of Chrome, its web browser, featuring enhanced privacy controls and automatic translation. The tools will allow users to specify that they want every web page they visit to appear in a certain language, and also offer the opportunity to set privacy controls that are specific to individual websites.

The move means that web users who speak languages where there is comparatively little web content, such as Arabic, will have access to a machine-translated version of the entire internet. Similarly, English speakers will have access to previously incomprehensible websites.

On Monday, Microsoft began its “browser ballot”, alerting users of its Internet Explorer software to the possibility of using other browsers, so Google’s new release comes at a crucial time for its own web browser software. A raft of newspaper adverts have also been used to raise public awareness of Chrome, which is free and promotes itself as faster and more secure than its competitors.

The company also announced the availability of UK specific “extensions”, which add new functionality to Chrome. These include instant access to travel information from Transport for London, as well as extensions developed by ticketing companies such as TicketMaster and SeatWave and shopping price comparison site Invisible Hand.