Internet technology now allows html contents of www.inda.org to be automatically translated into a dozen languages

CARY, NC — July 29, 2009 — As the world of nonwovens continues to grow smaller and companies and individuals from all corners of the globe rely on the Internet for their information, INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, has added the unique Babel Fish translator to its site – www.inda.org – to facilitate communications around the world. The Babel Fish translator will translate html pages on the INDA website into a dozen languages.

 “The INDA website receives thousands of hits each month from around the world and it is vital that these users be able to easily translate and understand our content,” points out INDA President Rory Holmes. “By utilizing the Babel Fish technology we have made it simpler and more convenient for our global audience to learn more about INDA programs and services, access our standards and other guidelines, and keep abreast of news from around the world of nonwovens.”

“Nonwovens has always been a global business and it is vital for INDA and its member companies to be able to communicate with colleagues, researchers, customers and suppliers around the world,” adds INDA Chairman Paul Latten, of Consolidated Fibers, Inc. “Utilizing this technology on the INDA website is one more step towards making the world of nonwovens a more effective marketplace.”

The translation technology for Babel Fish is provided by SYSTRAN, whose technology also powers a number of other sites and portals. It translates among English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, and Spanish.

Babel Fish is a web-based application on Yahoo! that machine translates text or html web pages from one of several languages into another. Developed by AltaVista, the application is named after the fictional animal used for instantaneous language translation in Douglas Adams's series “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.”