In order to keep the interests of the widespread computer users in the Indian sub-continent, Microsoft unveils a set of tools that are being designed to help users to enter Indian language text into computers easily and quickly. The tools were showcased at the Microsoft India Development Center in Hyderabad on 25th November, 2009.

These input tools have been engineered by the Emerging Markets Labs (EM Labs) team of the Microsoft India Development Center (MSIDC) and the technology can be leveraged to support other syllabic languages beyond Indian languages.

Currently in its beta version, these input tools will initially support six Indic languages, namely Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. These input tools use free-form transliteration.

“Users spell Indian language words in a natural (phonetic) way using English alphabet, which the tools transliterate into the right words in the chosen Indian language,” explains Microsoft in a press statement. Besides the availability of these input tools in desktop and web versions, visual keyboards for all supported languages will also be released.

“There is a huge demand to consume and interact with Indian language content today. Tools that make it easy to search, communicate and create content in Indian languages are key for broader computing adoption and the tools we are showcasing today are aimed at addressing this need,” remarks Srini Koppolu, Corporate VP & Managing Director, MSIDC at the official demonstration.

“The desktop version is unique among the free-form transliteration offerings in the market today, in that it enables the user to enter Indian language text directly into any application running on Microsoft Windows, such as Microsoft Word or Windows Live Messenger. The web version allows the user to enter text on any web page without requiring software download. The visual keyboard enables users who are not familiar with English alphabet to visually select and directly enter Indian language characters.” added Srini.

Microsoft India Development Center (MSIDC) at Hyderabad plays an important role in contributing to innovation at Microsoft and is one of the software giant’s largest research and development centres outside Redmond. MSIDC commenced operations in Hyderabad in 1998 with about 20 people under the leadership of Srini Koppolu. Today, it has a headcount of 1500 people engineering products and technologies for Microsoft.

These Indic language input tools will be made available as a free download soon, informed Microsoft.