Google continues to move language translation into more and more of its products.
On Thursday, it became a feature of Google Docs, so users can now perform on-the-spot translations into one of 42 languages.
The new feature, tucked away in a settings menu, can automatically detect the language in which the original document is written. It then opens the translated version in a new window, allowing you to compare and contrast the two side by side to check whether the translation has bungled any words or phrasing.
The new version can then either replace the original or be saved as a copy, although Google makes no visual indication in your document source list that its contents are in another language.
Over the past six months, Google has been quite busy adding translation to its other services, including its Gmail and Friend Connect.
In Gmail, users can now translate entire messages into one of Google Translate's supported languages. However, this feature must first be enabled in Gmail's Labs settings menu.
The translation implementation in Friend Connect is a little more interesting, as it can unify the language on any comment thread, regardless of how many languages the user comments are written in.
