The Internet has made it easier than ever before to connect across international boundaries. With that capability comes the need to be able to use different languages on your computer.  Windows 98 offers several international language options.  Not only can you install Internet Explorer 5 in any of 27 languages, you can also install additional components to make your language version of Windows accommodate other languages in different ways.

Read it, write it, or work with it
There are three choices for adding international language components to Windows: (Each choice is available in several language options.)

• Language Support Packages: allow Internet Explorer to display Web pages created in a different language.
• Input Method Editors (IMEs): allow you to fill in Web forms and send e-mail in a different language.
• International Menus and Dialogs: allow you to view the menus and dialog boxes of Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, Netmeeting, and Wallet in a different language.

Visit Microsoft in Japan (or China, or Israel, or...)
With language support packs, you can use your English (or other language) version of Internet Explorer to view characters on Web pages created in other languages. So Japanese-speaking people can read the Microsoft Japan Web site, even if they are running an English version of Windows. Language suport packs are available for:

After you install a language support package, all you have to do is visit a site that features the language of the package you installed.  In most cases, Internet Explorer will automatically display the correct language characters for the site. If the correct characters do not display:

• On the View menu, click Encoding, and then click Auto-Select.
• Click the Refresh button.

Send e-mail to Seoul
International Input Method Editors make it easy to communicate with someone who speaks a different language than you.  For example, if you live in the U.S. and are running an English version of Windows, you can activate your IME and send e-mail in Korean to your grandmother in Seoul. Your Korean IME will also let you fill out Web forms in Korean. IMEs are available for:

Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional)

Japanese Korean

After you install an Input Method Editor, an icon will appear on the taskbar, indicating the current input language.  Here, the "En" represents English. To change to a different language:

• Click the icon on the taskbar.
• From the menu, select the language you wish to use for creating e-mail and filling in Web forms.

The next time you create an e-mail message or fill in a Web form, the characters for the language you have chosen will appear. Follow the same procedure to return to your original language.

To enter text in languages other than Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, you can use the Multilanguage Support component. Multilanguage Support customizes your keyboard to type in another language. To install the Multilanguage Support component:

1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
3. Click the Windows Setup tab.
4. Select the check box for Multilanguage Support.
5. Click OK.

To customize your keyboard:

1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, click the Keyboard icon.
3. Click the Language tab.
4. Click the Add button.
5. Choose the language you want, and then click OK.

Search goes Swedish
So you want to brush up on your Swedish? Add Swedish Menus and Dialogs and you'll be able to sök the Web or send e-post to a friend.  International Menus and Dialogs let you change the language of your menus and dialog boxes in Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, NetMeeting and Wallet.  International Menus and Dialogs are available for:

After you install an International Menus and Dialogs package, to change the language of your menus and dialogs:

1. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
2. Click the Languages button.
3. Click the Change button.
4. On the drop-down menu, choose the language you want.

Follow same procedure to change back to your original language.

So, whether you want to work in your native language, brush up on a second (or third), or communicate with friends in far-away places, Windows makes it easy.

Molly Dempsey speaks un petit peu de Français.