Most don't typically expect Microsoft researchers to work on anything but operating systems and some software, but they also have a forward-looking component that yields some nice surprises. One of Microsoft's (News - Alert) newest developments is a system that allows users to speak in any language, translate what was said into another language and produce the translated audio.

The speech translation system takes just an hour to learn a user’s speech patterns. But the result is the successful conversion of every spoken word into a crisp recording in up to 26 languages.

As the software is already being compared to that in use by Star Trek, it's doubly ironic that the software itself was developed by a man named Frank Soong (Star Trek fans here will remember the creator of the Data android, Noonian Soong). But the applications of the software are clear, from rendering human translators largely obsolete to the possibility for new and easy contacts among different nations, and giving Microsoft a potential winner in the field.

This isn't the first effort, either. Apple's iPhone boasts a couple different voice-powered translation systems, and Google's (News - Alert) Nexus One is said to have a translation system developed in cooperation with DARPA. But this one distinguishes itself by both using one’s speech to start the process, and returning the results in a replica of his/her own voice.

An official release date is currently unknown, as it's only being used at Microsoft Research Asia. Its looming arrival, though, may be the start of something truly impressive: international contact that's as easy as calling a friend.