Here's How to Get a Sneak Peek at the New Skype Translator

This spring, Microsoft and Skype jointly rolled out Skype Translator, which lets Microsoft users translate video messages in real time.

When it was showcased at Re/code's first Code Conference in Ranchos Palos Verdes, Calif. in May, Microsoft said that Skype Translator would be available to Windows 8 users as a "beta app" by the end of the year. The Redmond, Wash.-based corporation is living up to its promise.

Starting this week, users with Microsoft Windows 8.1 computers and tablets can preview what the Skype Translator can do by registering for an account on Skype's website. However the company notes on the site that there are a "limited number of preview spots available."

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The company does caution users that Skype will "have a few rough edges but the more conversations it translates, the better it'll get." At the moment, in addition to the real-time translation, an on-screen transcript is included in your video call.

While the instant-message chats can be translated into 45 languages, the translator is offering only 12 languages for the video conferences -- Arabic, Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), French, Italian, Korean, Russian, English, German, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. 

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