Microsoft Maren Downloaded 150,000 Times Since Launch

A tool designed to create Arabic script from Roman alphabet keyboards was downloaded in excess of 150,000 times in approximately eight months after release. The offering is set up to compensate for the lack of access to an Arabic keyboard or lack of familiarity with one, according to Microsoft, and will simplify communication in their native language for Arabic users.

Offered as a Windows extension, Microsoft Maren is capable of "translating" Arabic in Roman characters (Romanized Arabic, Arabizi, Arabish or Franco-Arabic) into Arabic script. Microsoft explained that the conversion happened on the fly, as the user typed.

"Expressing your intense feelings of joy or sorrow is better served using your native tongue," Mostafa Ashour, Microsoft Maren program manager, said. "Maren helps you communicate efficiently in Arabic, even if you lack access to an Arabic keyboard or you are not familiar with one."

Maren, a product of the Cairo Microsoft Innovation Center, was offered for download in mid-2009. Eight months later, the tool is proving to be quite a success, having been downloaded in excess of 150,000 times, according to statistics made public by Microsoft. "The problem is, it's very easy to write Arabic in Roman letters but very painful to read it this way," Ashour added. "Using Maren, you can write Arabic in any application using a Roman keyboard and have it converted on the fly to native Arabic script for easier reading."

The promise from the software giant is that Maren integrates seamlessly with Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP. The tool is, of course, offered as a free download. "It's been really interesting to work on something that can have such an impact on people's lives," Ashour noted.

Microsoft Maren is available for download here.