"Imagine receiving an e-mail or accessing a website, and finding you cannot read it without downloading extra fonts. Speed -- the heart and soul of internet access -- suddenly becomes impossible.

"Dwayne Bailey, of the non-profit organisation Translate.org.za, says South Africa has such a problem. Bailey and his team are translating open-source software, which is distributed and modified for free, into all 11 official South African languages: Afrikaans, English, Xhosa, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Swati, Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda and Zulu.

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