Google and Facebook roll out Farsi tools

Google and Facebook roll out Farsi tools San Francisco - Google and Facebook both introduced Farsi translation tools on their websites Friday, saying the move was designed to help Iranians communicate with the outside world.

The announcements came after a week in which Iranian protestors against the election results have increasingly turned to the internet, and in particular to social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, to communicate with each other and the outside world amid a strict media clampdown.

Thousands of eye-witness reports are filed on these sites everyday, providing valuable, though uncorroborated insights into the tense situation in Iran.

As well as limiting access to conventional media, Iranian authorities have also disrupted cell phone communications and texting, while also blocking websites like Facebook. Thousands of Iranians are using proxy servers and identity shielding software to circumvent the government's online restrictions.

The Farsi initiatives by Google and Facebook stressed the centrality of the web in allowing information to flow freely.

"We feel that launching Persian is particularly important now, given ongoing events in Iran," Franz Och, principal scientist at Google, wrote on The Official Google Blog Friday. "Like YouTube and other services, Google Translate is one more tool that Persian speakers can use to communicate directly to the world, and vice versa, increasing everyone's access to information."

Facebook also says it moved up its unveiling of its Persian- language version.

"Since the Iranian election last week, people around the world have increasingly been sharing news and information on Facebook about the results and its aftermath," Eric Kwan, of Facebook, wrote on The Facebook Blog. He says much of the content has been created and shared in Persian, but people have had to navigate the site in English or other languages.

"Today we're making the entire site available in a beta version of Persian, so Persian speakers inside of Iran and around the world can begin using it in their native language," Kwan said.(dpa)