Trying to type a non-Roman language such as Hindi or Russian on a Roman keyboard is not easy. That’s because such languages use characters not found on a traditional keyboard. However, those languages can be spelled phonetically and then transliterated into the formal characters.

Google has been attempting to do this through machine transliteration through a tool available in Labs. The tool has a new update that includes 17 languages:

• Arabic
• Bengali
• Greek
• Gujarati
• Hindi
• Kannada
• Malayalam
• Marathi
• Nepali
• Persian
• Punjabi
• Russian
• Sanskrit
• Serbian
• Tamil
• Telugu
• Urdu

The update also provides dictionary lookup and character-by-character composition so you can make sure you’re getting the word you want. Also, the tool allows for the composition of richly formatted text (RTF).

While we’re on the topic of languages, Google has added one-click translation to its Sites product. If you’re not familiar, Google Sites are easy-peasy websites that you can create if you don’t have web development skills. Now, visitors to such sites who read a different language will be able to get an quick translation of the site with the integration of the Google Translate Element.

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3. Google Translate: Widget for Websites and In-Page Translation via FF Toolbar
4. Google Polishes Translate, Adds Features
5. WordStream’s Free Negative Keyword Tool Weeds Out The Unwanted To Boost Click-Through Rates