Press Release, October 17th, 2008

Press Release DiePresse.com – DiePresse.com uses Linguatec Voice Reader to read news out loud

DiePresse.com launches another new service with Voice Reader: DiePresse introduces its first German online service, giving its users the opportunity to listen to all news on the website. Linguatec, a leading provider of language software, has proven to be just the right partner.

DiePresse.com has more users than ever: in September 2008, the online news service of the Austrian quality newspaper “Die Presse” was used by 845,544 unique clients according to the Austrian web analytics company Ă–sterreichische Web Analyse (Ă–WA). The success was not least a result of the numerous innovations launched this year. Managing Director Peter Krotky at DiePresse.com comments: “Right now, we are the most innovative Austrian online service – our range of services is unique.” One of the services is the Linguatec Voice Reader Web.

Thanks to the Voice Reader Web, the user can listen to all articles at DiePresse.com, as well as the overview pages. The function is activated by a simple click of the mouse on the speaker icon. The icon can be found in the header on each page and directly in the article.

The basis of the Voice Reader is formed by recordings of trained speakers. The entire vocal material was broken down into individual units of sounds and syllables. The units are then reassembled to form the final audio text of each article. In order to retain human intonation, the Voice Reader operates according to an intricate set of rules. It identifies the position of the subject in a phrase and places the emphasis there. At an interrogation mark the voice is raised and at a full stop it is lowered.

The service became popular with DiePresse.com users from the very outset. Commenting on the benefits of the service for the website operator, Dr Reinhard Busch, Managing Director of Linguatec says: “We are delighted that our Voice Reader can contribute to the success of the renowned DiePresse.com website”.

Voice Reader Web (German) is now available from Linguatec. 14 other languages are available.
Rec. retail price: Basic package € 228 per year, allows access up to 1,000 times

About DiePresse.com:
DiePresse.com is the online service of the Austrian quality newspaper “Die Presse”. The most up-to-date news from all over the world as well as background information are presented by the 24-hour online editorial staff in twelve channels with over 50 sections in all. DiePresse.com offers all-round services including Internet, mobile phone and iPhone, a personalized home page, mobile RSS feeds, information newsletters, an online archive, current stock market prices and many entertainment and leisure tips. Reader involvement and user interaction is a priority at DiePresse.com, where blogs, chats surveys and comments are an important part of the experience. Selected comments are even published in the printed newspaper.
Having been the fastest growing online service among Austrian media companies from 2006 to 2007 in terms of unique clients, DiePresse.com has managed to boost growth even further in 2008. From 2007 to 2008, DiePresse.com has grown by 50% – a figure which applies equally across all channels. www.diepresse.com

About Linguatec:

Linguatec Language Technologies is the leading provider of language technology software in Germany. The core product fields are machine translation, speech recognition and text-to-speech. Linguatec has won the European Information Technology Prize three times.

Press Contact:
Linguatec Sprachtechnologien GmbH
Frau Brigitte Schindler
Gottfried-Keller-StraĂźe 12
81245 Munich
Phone.: 089-8966640
Fax: 089-88 91 99 33
www.linguatec.de

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