This note describes features needed for voice browsers. The technology will make it practical to browse the Web from any telephone. W3C has a major role to play in facilitating the development of open standards for voice browsers, which are expected to become available during the next year or so. Voice browsers use speech synthesis and prerecorded material to present the contents of Web pages. A variety of aural effects can be used to give different emphasis to headings, hypertext links, list items and so on.
Users interact with voice browsers by spoken command or by pressing a button on a keypad.
Some commands interrupt the browser. For instance to request a list of hypertext links occurring in the current section of the document. Other commands are given when the browser prompts for input, for example, to select an option from a menu in a form. To increase the robustness of speech recognition, voice browsers take advantage of contextual clues provided by the author. This allows the recognition engine to focus on likely utterances, improving the chances of a correct match.