Language barriers are something every multinational company invariably faces, but they could soon be a thing of the past if this new bit of tech from Microsoft gets off the ground. And if it’s as good as the video above suggests it is, then we sincerely hope that it will.

The concept is quite simple, on paper: a normal Skype call can be translated by the technology in real time, meaning that one person can speak in their native language while the other party can choose to hear it in their own, different tongue - or any other language they choose.

Although there’s a rather large potential for inaccuracies to cause embarrassment - the English word ‘salsa’ is pretty close to the Korean pronunciation of ‘diarrhoea’, just for example - Microsoft’s boffins have apparently been working on this technology for more than a decade, and have made great strides in voice-recognition software, so hopefully mistakes will be minimal.

The company is aiming to release the product as a Windows 8 beta app by the end of this year, and we for one can’t wait to try it.

Details: visit research.microsoft.com