One of the aspects correlated with the ubiquity of the Windows operating system is the fact that the platform is tailored to specific markets around the world. In this context, Windows Vista features no less than 36 different languages, designed to produce an intimate experience for end users. All the editions of Vista can be set to a specific language, with the Ultimate SKU being able to switch between linguistic configurations. But in addition to the resources integrated by default in the latest Windows client as well as those served through Windows Update, Microsoft is now making available the Windows Vista Language Interface Pack for the English version of the operating system.

"Windows Vista Language Interface Pack (LIP) [integrates with the] English versions of Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate, Business and Enterprise. Many Vista LIP languages are also available for Windows Vista Starter," Microsoft informed. "Windows Vista Language Interface Pack (LIP) for Windows Vista provides a partially translated version of the most widely used areas of Windows. After installing the LIP, portions of the text in wizards, dialog boxes, menus, Help and Support topics, and other items in the user interface will be displayed in the LIP language. The text that is not translated will be in English. You can install more than one LIP, so each user of the computer can display the user interface in their desired language."

The package made available by the Redmond company delivers support for the following languages: Albanian, Bosnian - Cyrillic, Bosnian - Latin, Gujarati, Hindi, Indonesian, Kazakh, Macedonian, Serbian - Cyrillic, Tamil, Uzbek - Latin, Vietnamese and Welsh. According to Microsoft, only the 32-bit English versions of Windows Vista can integrate the Language Interface Pack. Users have to bear in mind that the package is not synonymous with the Multilingual User Interface feature. MUI continues to be offered exclusively to Windows Vista Ultimate users via Windows Update.

Windows Vista Language Interface Pack 1.0 can be downloaded from here.