Currently the high-tech industry accounts for between a quarter and a third of Ireland's gross domestic product, according to analysts. At its simplest, localization is translation - taking Microsoft Word, for example, and translating all the online help, all the error messages, all the words that appear in toolbars and everything else into another language. It's not always simple. And translation isn't enough. Japanese office workers were mortified that coworkers could hear when they made mistakes.
Companies selling in different markets have many sensitivities to take into account.
If you buy the American or British English versions of Microsoft's Encarta encyclopedia, for example, you will learn that the telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell. In the Italian version, this achievement is credited to rival pioneer and inventor Guglielmo Marconi. Lifting cultural barriers The Windows operating system is sold in 25 different languages, which Ms. Pickering sees as liberating and empowering people worldwide. Others wonder whether the diversity that localization brings is not just cosmetic. Yahoo, for example, is among the top three portals in nearly every country in Europe because in each country, its site has a local look.