After MSN and Refiffbol, the regional language bug has bitten yet another messenger service. Yahoo! India has just launched Yahoo! Indichat plug-in, to enable users to chat in seven regional languages, without using a specific regional language keyboard. Users are required to load the Side Panel plug-in to chat on Yahoo! Messenger 8.0, in languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati and Malayalam. While the Plug- ins for Hindi and Tamil have already been launched, other regional language plug ins will be rolled out soon.
The plug-in feature in Yahoo! Messenger 8.0 will allow users to access music, finance, games, answers and other features in their messenger window. The regional language plug ins will also offer ‘Audibles’ in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Gujarati and Punjabi in the new version of the IM service. Other features include the ability to send messages across messenger versions and to Windows Live contacts in the Yahoo! messenger buddy list through the Interoperability feature. Moreover, Indichat will allow users to search for content in Hindi/Tamil on Yahoo! India Search.
Apart from the launch of the regional language plug In, Yahoo! India also announced the launch of Yahoo! Mail beta for India, touted as a next generation Web 2.0 mail product. The announcement stated that the new Yahoo! Mail beta will include a sleeker user interface with better speed and responsiveness, like that of a of a desktop application. It will include features such as innovative online calendar integration for enhanced functionality, drag and drop e-mail organization, message preview and an integrated RSS reader. The new Yahoo! Mail beta will be available to all users as a free, browser-based service, without the need for a software download.
Click here to download Indichat plug-in for Yahoo! Messenger 8.0 in Hindi and Tamil.