LONDON, August 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Rosetta Translation Limited announced today the formal launch of its website localisation services.

Global internet usage has tripled year on year since 2000. Of the 1.5 billion people that use the World Wide Web on a daily basis, forty per cent do so in a language that is not their mother tongue, making culture and geography-related specificities crucial factors for international companies to consider.

"The Internet is now being used as a medium for everything from accommodation bookings to research on zymology," says Luke Blackwell, Head of Information Technology at Rosetta's London headquarters, who is also responsible for developing Rosetta's website localisation services. "New uses are added daily and it makes sense for companies to have website visibility and function at the heart of their international marketing strategy."

Website localisation refers to the process that makes a website accessible, functional and culturally suited to a specific market. It requires technical expertise and knowledge of linguistic and cultural variances, from what images a group may find offensive to the average connection speed within a given area.

Several factors require close consideration when localising a website, and companies would do well with specialist help. Pictures of sunbathing bikini-clad women connote holidays in most of Western Europe, but may not be used in the Middle East. Slogans for alcoholic beverages are prohibited from being expressed in the Maori language. An average user in Seoul browses the Internet at the speed of 7500 kilobytes per second and is not slowed down by large image files while an Egyptian struggling along at a tenth of that speed may find the same site frustratingly slow.

There is a strong commercial case for companies to localise, according to Eric Fixmer, Managing Director of the Rosetta Translation Group. "It does cost more to adapt products and services for international markets. However, in an increasingly global economy, the 'one size fits all' option no longer works as a corporate strategy."

Rosetta Translation takes care of its clients' technical localisation issues, such as full pre-implementation testing of foreign language versions of a website, as well as offering advice on the softer facets of internationalisation, such as ensuring cultural appropriateness.

Editors Note: Rosetta Translation provides translation services to companies worldwide. Offices in London, New York, Luxembourg, Paris and Shanghai. http://www.rosettatranslation.com.

Contact: Matthew Ives, Rosetta Translation London, Tel: +44-20-73538902, Email: mives@rosettatranslation.com

Contact: Matthew Ives, Rosetta Translation London, Tel: +44-20-73538902, Email: mives@rosettatranslation.com