Lucknow-based Prologix Software Solutions will partner with Microsoft to incorporate its text-to-speech software ‘Vaachak’ in the newer version of Internet Explorer (IE) that is slated for a release by the end of November 2002.

“We are in close negotiations with Microsoft and soon we would be having a partnership with them involving Vaachak and IE,” confirms Vinamra Agarwal, CEO at Prologix. As of now the company is busy porting Vaachak on to the new IE.

This move will help Microsoft tap into the unexplored territory of Indian languages and enable developers to work on Windows XP and Unicode, whose character set is already integrated with Vaachak.

As of now the software has been ported to the MS office suite with the ability to read out any Unicode Hindi text in a user-defined voice and rate. Unicode is a standard that provides a unique number for every character irrespective of the platform, language and fundamentally.

“At the moment we have implemented it for Hindi. The software is one of the only TTS synthesizers that has the capability to recognize Unicode Hindi text and render it to clear speech,” Vinamra explains.

Work is underway to make the software compatible with new voices and languages. “Our next initiatives would be in the areas of Marathi, Bangla and Tamil,” Vinamra added. Sources close to Microsoft have revealed that the company itself is working on developing a multilingual portal capable of speaking in a number of different Indian languages.

Once Microsoft fully integrates Vaachak into its browser, users would be able to hear the contents of an email or tally figures present in a worksheet or even automate presentations in Hindi.

“In addition we have a comprehensive products suite for next generation telecom services solution that include innovative applications like Unified Messaging, Audio Conferencing, etc,” Vinamra informs. To highlight its latest developments, the company is participating at Milan International Exhibition/ tradeshow at SMAU 2002 and if the deal with Microsoft goes on smoothly, the company is surely on its way to glory.

(CNS)