Internet guruís tv debut - 06/2001

Will English remain the dominant language of the World Wide Web? A recent debate on the issue saw Giles Guest of 4mat.com make his worldwide TV debut as a UK Internet expert. And appropriately, the interview - by now.com TV - was broadcast over the web and via satellite to 63 countries.

Guest explained to an estimated online audience of half a million, the reasons behind the dominance of the English language, and discussed the role for Asian and Spanish based languages as the web develops. He explained: `Although the web is by definition a global platform and English language dominates, it would be nave for companies not to see the benefits of selling to people in their native language. Recruiters who claim to offer a global service need to demonstrate that effectively and not simple pay lip service to the needs of foreign visitors.í

4mat.com practises what it preaches: Martin Ward Anderson, finance, banking and technology recruitment specialists, recently commissioned 4mat to provide a Dutch language version of its website. The company took special care to ensure that the translations would actually make sense to Dutch people from a cultural as well as a language perspective: `Building a foreign language website is more than simply a translation issue. By taking cultural differences into account you can see how committed a company is to trading overseas. We see it as extending a basic courtesy by marketing to people in their own language.í Matthew OíDonnell, manager, Martin Ward Anderson International Division explained.

Gilesís TV appearance is one of many planned for this year as demand grows for comment from Internet spokespeople who not only understand the web, but crucially how to make money from it as well.

www.4mat.com