Arabic Language Miscellaneous Facts


Arabic is one of the oldest languages in the world that today is spoken by over 256 million people in about 30 different countries. It is the official language of Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Western Sahara (SADR), Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

There is a form of Arabic called Modern Standard Arabic, which is understood by most Arabic speakers and is often used in international organizations. In fact, Arabic is one of the official languages of the United Nations and is mostly spoken in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Arabic writing is varying as well, is extremely complex and often does not even compare to its spoken form. Arabic is considered the sixth most spoken language in the world even though the Arabic language is spread into many varying forms. In the United States alone, there are over 590,000 Arabic speaking people. The total number of Arabic speaking internet users is now at 16.5 million and growing constantly.

Many Arabic nations enjoy great wealth due to the huge oil reserves found in those regions thus making the Arabic population an important factor on the global market. In fact, the entire GDP of all the Arabic nations amounts to about 115.8 billion dollars. In addition to their wealth from the oil, there are countless investment opportunities, business projects, international organizations, etc., in Arabic countries as well. Due to the size of the Arabic markets and the opportunities available on this growing online market, it is obvious that the Arabic speaking population has great potential for business online.


Arabic search engines Directory:
 
Egypt -Masrawy
http://www.masrawy.com

Egypt -Egypt.com
http://www.egypt.com
Bilingual English/Arabic

Iran -Parseek
http://www.parseek.com
Iran -Janane
http://www.janane.com
Iran -Google Iran 
http://www.google.com/intl/fa/

Iraq -Iraq Directory
http://www.iraqdirectory.com/ar/
Bilingual English/Arabic
Kuwait - Q8Y2B
http://www.q8y2b.com
Saudi Arabia - Naseej 
http://www.naseej.com

Iran -IranMehr
http://www.iranmehr.com

Saudi Arabia - Google Arabic
http://www.google.com/intl/ar/
Saudia Arabi - Alnokhba 
http://www.alnokhba.com
Syria -Syria Gate
http://www.syriagate.com

United Arab Emirates-AME Info
http://www.ameinfo.com/arabic/
United Arab Emirates-Alkhaleej
http://www.alkhaleej.co.ae
United Arab Emirates- Albahhar
http://www.albahhar.com
Albawaba 
http://www.albawaba.com
English/Arabic
Ame Info
http://www.ameinfo.com/arabic/
Bilingual English/Arabic
Arabji
http://www.arabji.com/Arabic/
Bilingual English/Arabic
123 Arab
http://www.123arab.com/arabic/
Bilingual English/Arabic

 

 

 

Google is the only “real” search engine in Bengali: http://www.google.com/intl/bn/

Bengali Language Miscellaneous Facts

Bengali is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. With nearly 200 million native speakers, Bengali is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world (it is ranked fifth in the world). Bengali is the main language spoken in Bangladesh (around 98% of the total population of Bangladesh speak Bengali as a native language); in India, Bengali is ranked as the second most spoken language.

If serious about reaching internet users in India, check out our SEO services in URDU & HINDI as well!

Czech Language Miscellaneous Facts

Czech is the official language of the Czech republic and is one of the West Slavic languages, along with Slovak, Polish, Pomeranian (Kashubian), and Lusatian Sorbian. It is spoken by most people in the Czech Republic and by Czechs all over the world (about 11 million native speakers in total). Czech is very close to Slovak and, to a lesser degree, to Polish. 
The Czech Republic is one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. Growth in 2000-05 was supported by exports to the EU, primarily to Germany, and a strong recovery of foreign and domestic investment. Tourism industry is huge and employs about 1% of the active population.

Internet usage skyrocketed in the past 5 years going from 1 million users in 2000 to 5.1 million in 2006. This translates to ca. 49.9 % of the Czech population using the internet on a regular basis.

Czech Search Engine
 
Atlas
http://www.atlas.cz/
CENT
http://www.cent.cz/
Centrum
http://www.centrum.cz/
Google in Czech
http://www.google.com/intl/cs/
O2 Active
http://internet.o2active.cz/
Zona
http://www.zona.cz/

Chinese language Miscellaneous Facts

The Chinese language is spoken as a first language by about 1.3 billion people in the world, mostly in China, making it the most commonly spoken language in the world. In fact, the United States alone holds about 2 million Chinese-speaking people. Concerning the Internet, there are over 144 million Chinese speaking Internet users in the world. 

When it comes to written Chinese, there are two forms: Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese. Traditional Chinese is the oldest written form, the most complex and is mostly used by Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Simplified Chinese, on the other hand, was created about 40 years ago so that the general public could become literate. It is easier to write, less complex and most commonly used in the People's Republic of China and Singapore. In today’s Internet context, simplified Chinese search engines are targeted to mainland China (& Singapore) while traditional Chinese is used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and by the vast majority of Chinese expatriates in the US, Canada, Europe etc... When translating your website, it is important to decide which, if not both, form of written Chinese you would like to use depending on which area of China you would like to target.

Considering that China represents around 1.3 billion Chinese-speaking natives, it is obvious that it is a very important market to target. China itself is the manufacturing hub of the world, has a steadily increasing economic growth rate and has created many flexible investment zones, free trade zones, high tech zones, export processing zones, etc. Due to its market size, presence in international business affairs, and growth potential, the Chinese-speaking population is a necessary market for international business.

Chinese search engines directory:
 
Traditional Chinese
AOL Taiwan aka Asia Online
http://www.aol.com.tw/
TC only
AsianNet- Taiwan
http://www.asiannet.com/joinus.html
TC only

Asiabot CHINA 
http://search.asiabot.com/
TC only

Chinese Yahoo :
http://tw.yahoo.com
TC/SC both
Google in Chinese:
http://www.google.com/intl/zh-CN
TC 
Gais
http://gais.cs.ccu.edu.tw/
TC 

Google in traditional Chinese:
http://www.google.com/intl/zh-TW
TC only

Hyber-C, ChinaVista
http://www.chinavista.com/
TC/SC both
Netscape in Chinese:
http://wp.netscape.com/
( Taiwan ) TC only
MSN Hong Kong
http://www.msn.com.hk/
TC 
MSN - Taiwan
http://search.msn.com.tw
TC
Timway- HKG
http://www.timway.com/
Open Find:
http://www.openfind.com.tw/ 
TC only
Sina Hong Kong
http://search.sina.com.hk/
TC only
Zhongsou
www.zhongsou.com
TC (Belgium)
Yam:
http://www.yam.com
TC only
 

Simplified Chinese

AOL China 
http://www.aol.com.cn/
SC only
China pages:
http://www.chinapages.com/
SC only
Chinese Yahoo :
http://chinese.yahoo.com
TC/SC both
NetEase aka www.163.com:
http://home.netease.com
SC only

Lycos in Chinese - 365ren:
http://www.365ren.com
SC only
Hyber-C, ChinaVista
http://www.chinavista.com 
TC/SC both

China 139 :
http://www.china139.com
SC only
Baidu
http://www.baidu.cn/
Chin Channel:
http://www.china-channel.com
SC only

Nihao:
http://www.nihao.com
SC
Sohu:
http://www.sohu.com
SC only
Google in simplified Chinese:
http://www.google.com/intl/zh-CN/ 
TC by default - SC search setting

SINA:
http://www.sina.com/
SC only
Beijixing:
http://www.beijixing.com.cn/
SC ONLY
If your website is already translated in Chinese click here for
Chinese optimization/meta tags and Chinese search engines submission services
only - RE-OPTIMIZATION and SUBMISSION SERVICES

Danish Language Miscellaneous Facts


The Danish language belongs to the Scandinavian language group, a branch of the Germanic languages in the Indo-European language family. Danish is mostly spoken in Denmark, Greenland and The Faroe Islands as the official language but the total number of Danish speaking people in the world is about 5.7 million. In fact, the US alone accounts for roughly 300,000 speakers of the Scandinavian languages, which includes Danish as well. Concerning the online markets, there are about 3.7 million people in the world accessing the Internet in Danish. 
Denmark is located right above Germany close to the shores of Sweden. Denmark holds a population of about 5.5 million Danish-speaking individuals and has a GDP of about 167.7 billion dollars. Denmark enjoys a modern market economy, a strong education system, comfortable living standards, a dependency on foreign trade and a stable currency even though Denmark has not joined the rest of the European Union in using the Euro currency. Denmark is a small country, yet the Danish speaking population plays a key role in the European markets, and should not be forgotten when tapping into European business online.

 

Danish search engines directory:
 
Altavista in Danish:
http://dk.altavista.com

1klik:
http://www.1klik.dk

Add2me:
http://www.add2me.dk

Chart:
http://www.chart.dk

Google in Danish:
http://www.google.com/intl/da/

MSN in Danish:
http://search.msn.dk

Lycos in Danish aka Jubii:
http://www.jubii.dk

Dansklinks:
http://www.danskelinks.dk

Edderkoppen:
http://www.edderkoppen.dk

Forum:
http://forum.dk

Tdconline:
http://tdconline.dk 

Danmark Portalen:
http://www.danmarkportalen.dk/

Dutch Language Miscellaneous Facts


Dutch is spoken by about 26 million people in a number of old Dutch colonies and countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Philippines, UAE and the USA. It is the official language in countries such as the Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Aruba, parts of Belgium and Suriname. Dutch is classified as a West Germanic language and is made up of a couple varieties including one called Flemish, spoken by about 8 million people in Belgium. The Dutch language itself, is also said to be one of the closest related languages to English in the world. In addition, the Dutch speaking population is Internet friendly with about 12.5 million Dutch speakers online worldwide and 10 million Internet users in the Netherlands itself (about 65.9% of the population accesses the Internet).

Although Dutch is spoken worldwide, it exists primarily in the Netherlands and neighboring European countries. The Netherlands is situated directly next to Germany and above Belgium, where there are a good number of Dutch speakers as well. With a population of 16.5 million people, the Netherlands is considered to be one of the most densely populated countries in the world when compared to the size of the country.

The Netherlands itself is involved in European business affairs, the United Nations, the European Union and receives a fair amount of business from tourists, international organizations and foreign direct investments. Representing an important part of the European Union, the Dutch-speaking markets are essential to fully access the online European market.

The Netherlands itself is involved in European business affairs, the United Nations, the European Union and receives a fair amount of business from tourists, international organizations and foreign direct investments. Representing an important part of the European Union, the Dutch-speaking markets are essential to fully access the online European market.

 
 

 

Dutch search engines directory:
 
Altavista in Dutch:
http://nl.altavista.com
(Netherland)
Altavista in Dutch:
http://be-nl.altavista.com
(Belgium/Flemish)
1 Stekeuze:
http://www.1stekeuze.nl (Netherland)
Eli:
http://www.eli.nl 
(Netherland)
Google in Dutch:
http://www.google.nl
(Netherland)
Google in Dutch
http://www.google.be
(Belgium/Flemish)
Google in Dutch
http://www.goegel.be
(Belgium/Flemish)
Hotbot in Dutch:
http://www.hotbot.nl 
(Netherland)
Ilse:
http://www.ilse.nl 
(Netherland)
Ilse:
http://be.ilse.nl 
(Belgium/Flemish)
Jongerenweb:
http://www.jongerenweb.nl 
(Netherland)
Kobala:
http://www.kobala.nl 
(Netherland)
Kobala:
http://www.kobala.be 
(Belgium/Flemish)

Lapoo in Dutch:
http://www.lapoo.be/nl/index.htm
(Belgium/Flemish)
MSN in Dutch:
http://www.msn.nl 
(Netherland)
Lycos in Dutch:
http://www.lycos.nl
(Netherland)
Metaspider:
http://www.metaspider.nl
(Netherland)
Rubrieken:
http://www.rubrieken.com 
(Netherland)
MSN in Dutch:
http://search.msn.be 
(Belgium/Flemish)
Jaan.org:
http://www.jaan.org 
(Belgium/Flemish)
Web:
http://www.web.nl 
(Netherland)
Track:
http://www.track.nl 
(Netherland)
Vinden:
http://www.vinden.nl
(Netherland)
Netmenu:
http://www.netmenu.nl 
(Netherland)
WWWGids:
http://www.wwwgids.nl
Zoek:
http://www.wwwgids.nl 
(Netherland)
Gevonden:
http://www.gevonden.be 
(Belgium/Flemish)
DeBeste:
http://www.debeste.be
(Belgium/Flemish)
)
 
 


 
Finnish Language Miscellaneous Facts

Finnish is considered the official language of Finland and is equal in status to Swedish, another official language of Finland. Over 6 million people in around 7 different countries including Finland speak Finnish. In fact, the US alone accounts for roughly 300,000 speakers of the Scandinavian languages, which includes Finnish as well. Worldwide, there are over 3.3 Finnish-speaking people who access the Internet. The Finnish language belongs to the Finno-Ugric sub-group of the Ural-Altaic language family and is closely related to Estonian and Saami.

For decades now, Finland has had a highly industrialized, largely free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as for example Sweden, UK, France and Germany. Finland's population of about 5.2 million people enjoys a GDP per capita of about $37,300 dollars and a total purchasing power parity GDP of about 195.8 billion dollars. Finland's economic success is due to the manufacturing sector and it's exports account for about 1/3 of the GDP. Finland's economy is expected to increase with the rise of the European economy since it is a member of the European Union and uses the Euro currency. The Finnish speaking population offers great potential for online business and should definitely be considered when accessing the online European markets.

Finnish search engines directory:
 
Aina.fi aka Makupalat:
http://www.makupalat.fi/

Altavista in Finnish:
http://fi.altavista.com
Google in Finnish:
http://www.google.com/intl/fi/

Elisa.net aka Kolumbus.fi :
http://elisa.net
MSN in Finnish:
http://search.msn.fi
Suomi24:
http://www.suomi24.fi/

Soneraplaza:
http://www.soneraplaza.fi


WalHello:
http://www.walhello.com
Webinfo:
http://www.webinfo.fi
Webstudio:
http://www.webstudio.fi


WWW.fi:
http://www.fi

German Language Miscellaneous Facts

An estimated 110 million people speak German as a first language in countries such as Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Switzerland, parts of Belgium, Eastern France and Northern Italy. It is also widely spoken throughout the world by some 20 million non-native speakers and competes with Spanish, French and English as the most often chosen second language learned. In the United States, there are about 1.2 million native German-speaking individuals. German is actually the fourth most commonly used language in Europe after English, Spanish and Russian. Although, the German language varies from region to region, it remains relatively the same except for some pronunciation and vocabulary differences.

German is spoken primarily in Germany, a country that possesses one of the strongest economies in the world, and where the majority of the people are highly trained individuals who hold important degrees and qualifications. In fact, Germany is also one of the world's largest exporters and is home to many international corporations. The German speaking population holds a firm position on the Internet sector as well with almost 58.8 million people using the Internet in German worldwide. The German-speaking population all together in Germany and internationally is very present in global business affairs, international organizations, technological applications, Internet affairs, etc. For companies wishing to reach foreign markets, the German-speaking markets are essential.

German Search Engines Directory
 
 
Aarno:
http://www.aarno.de
Abacho in German 
aka aladin.de:
http://www.aladin.de
Acoon:
http://www.acoon.de
Alexana:
http://www.alexana.de
Allesklar:
http://www.allesklar.de
AOL in German:
http://www.aol.de
Bellnet:
http://www.bellnet.de
AltaVista in German:
http://de.altavista.com
(Germany)
AltaVista in German:
http://at.altavista.com
(Austria)
AltaVista in German:
http://ch-de.altavista.com
(Switzerland/German)
Dino Online:
http://www.dino-online.de
Findmore:
http://www.findmore.de
Google in German:
http://www.google.de
(Germany)
Google in German:
http://www.google.ch
(Switzerland/German)
MSN in German
http://www.msn.ch
(Switzerland/German)
MSN in German:
http://www.msn.de
Hotbot in German:
http://www.hotbot.de
MSN in German
http://www.msn.at
(Austria)
Lycos in German:
http://www.lycos.de
(Germany)
Lycos in German:
http://www.lycos.at
(Austria)
Lycos in German:
http://www.lycos.ch
(Switzerland/German)
Netscape in German:
http://www.netscape.de
Suchbot:
http://www.suchbot.de
Utanet :
http://www.utanet.at
(Austria)
Tiscali in German:
http://www.tiscali.de
(Germany)
Tiscali in German:
http://www.tiscali.at
(Austria)
Tiscali in German:
http://www.tiscali.ch
(Switzerland/German)
Web:
http://web.de
Yahoo in German:
http://de.yahoo.com
Only websites fully translated into German are eligible for inclusion in the German Yahoo. 

 

Greek Language Miscellaneous Facts

Greek has a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest of any single language within the Indo-European family. It is also one of the earliest attested Indo-European languages, with fragmentary records in Mycenaean dating back to the 15th or 14th century BC. Today it is spoken by about 12 million people in many countries all over the world. In the United States alone, there are over 300,000 Greek-speaking individuals.

Although, Greece today is not the gigantic empire it once was, it is still an economically strong country with a total population of about 10.6 million people and a GDP of 238.2 billion dollars. Although the number of Greek speakers in the world is fairly low compared to other languages, the Greek speaking population represents an important portion of the European market.

Concerning the Internet, there are around 2.7 million Greek-speaking people online in the world, out of which about 1.7 million Internet users live in Greece.

Greek search engines directory:
 
Asextos
http://www.asxetos.gr
E-One 
http://www.e-one.gr
Forth Net
http://search.forthnet.gr/
OTE Net
http://www.otenet.gr
Pathfinder
http://www.pathfinder.gr
Phantis
http://www.phantis.gr 
Anazitisis
http://www.anazitisis.gr 
In.gr
http://www.in.gr
FindLink
http://www.findlink.gr/gr/
Ano-Kato
http://www.ano-kato.com
Google in Greek
http://www.google.com.gr 
Trinity
http://www.trinity.gr 
Visto
http://www.visto.gr

 

Hebrew Language Miscellaneous Facts

The Hebrew language is one of the oldest languages in the world and like Arabic originated from old forms of languages such as Aramaic, Akkadian and Amharic. Hebrew is a Semitic language and is written from right to left. The Hebrew alphabet, consists of 22 characters. Ancient Hebrew is the language of the Bible but Modern Hebrew, which was brought about in the 19th century, is now the most commonly spoken. Of the six million people who speak Hebrew worldwide, 7.1 million live in Israel where Hebrew is the official language. It is spoken in regions and countries such as the Gaza strip, the West bank, other Arabic nations and the USA. In fact, in the USA alone there are over 200,000 native Hebrew speakers, in addition to about 2.5 million non-native speakers. Worldwide, there are over 3.8 million Hebrew speaking individuals on the Internet.

Israel is the land of the Hebrew speaking population, and has long been involved in much conflict concerning politics, land, religion and history. Israel has a technologically advanced economy and is dependent upon a number of imports and foreign money in the form of investments, loans and transfer payments. Much of the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts have kept the Israeli economy low but Israel holds a GDP of about 156.9 billion dollars despite this. The Hebrew speaking population worldwide is fairly present in business affairs and represents an important part of the international markets.

Hebrew search engines directory:
 
Hareshima
http://www.hareshima.com

Google Israel
http://www.google.co.il 

ZooLoo
http://www.zooloo.co.il 

Tapuz
http://www.tapuz.co.il 

Walla
http://www.walla.co.il 

Gogo
http://www.gogo.co.il 

MSN Israel
http://www.msn.co.il
IOL
http://home.iol.co.il 

iGuide
http://www.iguide.co.il/hindex.html


Reshet
http://www.reshet.co.il

 

Google is the only “real” search engine in Hindi: http://www.google.com/intl/hi/

Hindi Language Miscellaneous Facts

Hindi is the mother tongue of about 337 million Indians, or about 40% of India's population. About 180 million people in India regard standard Hindi as their mother tongue, and another 300 million use it as a second language. Outside India, Hindi speakers number around 8 million in Nepal, 1.9 Million in the USA 890,000 in South Africa, 685,000 in Mauritius, 233,000 in Yemen, 147,000 in Uganda, 30,000 in Germany, 20,000 in New Zealand and 5,000 in Singapore, while the UK and UAE also have sizeable populations of Hindi speakers.

If serious about reaching internet users in India, check out our SEO services in URDU & BENGALI as well!

 

Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) Language Miscellaneous Facts

Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a standardized dialect of the Malay language that was officially defined with the declaration of Indonesian independence in 1945, and the two languages remain quite similar.

The language is spoken fluently as a second language by most Indonesians, who generally use a regional language (examples are Minangkabau and Javanese) at home and in their local community. Most formal education, as well as nearly all national media and other communication, are in Indonesian. In East Timor, Indonesian is recognized by the constitution as one of the two working languages (the other is English).

The Indonesian name for the language is Bahasa Indonesia (literally language of Indonesia); this name is sometimes used in English as well. The language is sometimes called "Bahasa" by English-speakers, though this simply means "language" in Indonesian.

Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a nation of 17,508 islands in the South East Asian Archipelago, making it the world's largest archipelagic state. With a population of over 200 million, it is the world's fourth most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority nation. Its capital is Jakarta.

The internet made its Indonesian debut in late 1994. By the end of 1995, there were ca. 200,000 regular users. As of 2005, over 16 million people were using the internet on a regular basis.

Indonesian Search Engine
 
InfoIndonesia
http://www.infoindonesia.com
Google in Indonesian 
http://www.google.co.id/intl/id/
Incari
http://www.incari.com
Endonesia
http://www.endonesia.com
Layarperak
http://www.layarperak.com/

 

Italian Language Miscellaneous Facts

The Italian language is spoken in about 29 countries by about 60 million people all over the world but spoken primarily in Italy. Italian is known as a “romance language”, derived from antique Latin like Spanish and French. The Italian language is heavily linked with art history and music theory, as many famous artists originated from Italy. Italian is the official language of Italy and part of Switzerland as well.

When it comes to business, it is one of the major six languages in the European Union and is fairly present in business affairs not only in Europe but globally. Italy represents the highest number of Italian native speakers and therefore represents the Italian markets the most. There are over 28.8 million Italian-speaking people online worldwide with about 10 million living in Italy. Italian is one of the top ten most used languages on the internet today. Italian speaking users represent 2.7% of all worldwide internet users today (source http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm).

Italy and the Italian-speaking population hold an important place in today's modern economy and represent a significant part of the European community. In addition to its role in the European community, Italy is present in numerous international organizations, global business affairs, global decision making organizations, etc. When turning to the international markets, it is extremely important to include Italy and the Italian speaking population.

Italian search engines directory:
 
AltaVista in Italian:
http://it.altavista.com
Categorico:
http://categorico.it
Excite in Italian:
http://www.excite.it
Google in Italian:
http://www.google.it
Iltrovatore:
http://www.iltrovatore.it
Italia Business:
http://www.italiabusiness.it
MSN in Italian:
http://www.msn.it
Libero aka Arinna:
http://arianna.libero.it
Lycos in Italian:
http://www.lycos.it
Sinyseek:
http://www.shinyseek.it
Alice:
http://www.alice.it 
Sussidiario:
http://www.sussidiario.it
Tiscali in Italian:
http://www.tiscali.it 
Yahoo in Italian:
http://it.yahoo.com


Only websites fully translated into Italian are eligible for inclusion in the Italian Yahoo.

 

Japanese Language Miscellaneous Facts

Japanese is a member of the Altaic language family, the official language of Japan and is spoken by about 135 million people in about 27 countries. Japanese is actually one of the ten most widely spoken languages in the world. In the United States alone, there are over 400,000 native Japanese speakers though the majority of Japanese-speaking natives are located in Japan and the neighboring Ryukyu and Bonin islands. In addition, Japan and the Japanese speaking population rank number two in the world for the highest number of Internet users with over 86 million Japanese Internet users (an estimated 7.9% of all worldwide internet users). The written language of Japanese is spread into four different forms in which Hiragana, a written form of Japanese using simple words and Japanese syllables, is the most often used and taught.

The three strongest players in the Asian market are China, India and Japan. Japan and the Japanese speaking population of around 135 million people has long been a powerful economic power with a GDP of about 3.60 trillion dollars. In fact, Japan holds the third largest economy after the US and China and is the second most technologically powerful economy in the world. Due to the role that Japan and the Japanese speaking population play in the Asian market, it is vital to access those markets for a well standing position in the Asian business market.

Japanese search engines directory:
 
AOL Japan:
http://www.jp.aol.com
Biglobe:
http://search.biglobe.ne.jp
Dmoz Japan
http://dmoz.org/World/Japanese
Dokoda:
http://www.dokoda.com
Excite Japan:
http://www.excite.co.jp
Fresh Eye :
http://www.fresheye.com
Goo:
http://www.goo.ne.jp
Google Japan :
http://www.google.co.jp
Interconnect aka Alcarna:
http://search.interconnect.co.jp
Infoseek - Japan. 
http://japan.infoseek.com 
Lycos Japan:
http://www.infoseek.co.jp
Msn Japan:
http://jp.msn.com
Nikkei Net:
http://www.nikkei.co.jp
Netscape Japan:
http://www.netscape.co.jp
ODN aka Open Data Network:
http://www.odn.ne.jp
OCN aka Open Computer Network:
http://www.ocn.jp
Sho-web
http://www.sho-web.net/
Yahoo Japan:
http://www.yahoo.co.jp

 

Korean Language Miscellaneous Facts

The Korean language is the official language of both North and South Korea and is spoken by about 81 million people including large groups in the former Soviet Union, China, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Japan, and more recently, South Africa and the Philippines. In the United States alone, there are around 1.1 million native Korean speakers. In addition, about 34 million people around the world access the Internet in Korean. South Korea ranks as one of the top Asian countries for Internet use (an estimated 3.1% of all worldwide internet users).

Korean is divided into about six major dialects but is easily understood in almost all its forms by all Korean speakers. The Korean language was originally written using Chinese characters but is now written in Hangul (name of written form), using the Korean alphabet, which has 24 letters. Although mainly spoken in North and South Korea, the Korean language and Korean-speaking population represent an important part of the Asian market. South Korea has a population of about 47.5 million people, a GDP of about 855 billion. Due to its location all across the world and the importance Korean holds in the Asian markets, the Korean language should most definitely be considered when translating one's website.

Korean search engines directory:
 
Simmani aka Chol:
http://www.chol.com
Altavista Korea:
http://kr.altavista.com
Empas:
http://www.empas.com
Naver:
http://www.naver.com
Lycos Korea aka nate.com:
http://www.nate.com
MSN Korea:
http://www.msn.co.kr/
Google Korea :
http://www.google.co.kr/
Daum:
http://www.daum.net
Mannam:
http://www.mannam.com
Chollian:
http://www.chollian.net
Korea.com
http://www.korea.com
Bilingual portal English- Korean
Heeya:
http://www.heeya.com
Ready:
http://www.ready.co.kr/
Yahoo Korea:
http://kr.yahoo.com
Dream wiz:
http://www.dreamwiz.com
Haejuk Korea:
http://kr.haejuk.com
Hot search:
http://www.hotsearch.co.kr/
GO WWW net:
http://www.gowww.net
Only websites fully translated into Korean are eligible for inclusion in the Korean Yahoo.
If your website is already translated in Korean click here for
Korean optimization/meta tags and Korean search engines submission services
only - RE-OPTIMIZATION and SUBMISSION SERVICES

Although there are small regional search engines/directories in English about Malaysia, such portals are insignificant since they are only geared to tourists visiting Malaysia. There is only one search engine in Bahasa Melayu :Google!

Google features 2 versions:

Google Malaysia
http://www.google.com.my/intl/ms/

And

Google Bahasa Melayu
http://www.google.com/intl/ms/

Malay language Miscellaneous Facts

The Malay language, also known locally as Bahasa Melayu, is an Austronesian language spoken by the Malay people (Pop. 27.4 million) who reside in the Malay Peninsula, southern Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, central eastern Sumatra, the Riau islands, and parts of the coast of Borneo. It is an official language of Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore. It is very similar to Indonesian, known locally as Bahasa Indonesia, the official language of Indonesia. The official standard for Malay, as agreed upon by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, is the form spoken in the Riau Islands just south of Singapore, long considered the birthplace of the Malay language.

The Malay Peninsula and indeed Southeast Asia has been a centre of trade for centuries. It transformed itself from 1971 through the late 1990s from a producer of raw materials into an emerging multi-sector economy. Growth was almost exclusively driven by exports - particularly of electronics. The economy grew 4.9% in 2003, then topped 7% in 2004 and 5% in 2005. As an oil and gas exporter, Malaysia has profited from higher world energy prices. Internet usage in Malaysia has sustained a huge growth in the past 5 years, jumping from 3.7 million users in 2000 to 11.2 million users as of September 2006.

 

Norwegian Language Miscellaneous Facts

The Norwegian language is a Scandinavian language spoken by about 5 million people in Norway, some Scandinavian countries and parts of North America. The language began spreading during the Viking age. Today, Norwegian is made up of two major forms called Bokmal and Nynorsk, which are both the official languages of Norway, currently equal in usage. Still, a person speaking Bokmal will easily understand someone speaking Nynorsk and the other way around. Norwegian is closely related to Danish, as Denmark and Norway were once the same country around 1397.

Norway and the Norwegian speaking population have a high standard of living, one of the highest per capita incomes. Along with a very strong educational system, it is one of the very few countries in the world that boasts a 100% literacy rate. Norway has a population of some 4.5 million Norwegian speakers possesses the second highest GDP per capita in the world. Its economy relies heavily on its waters, which provide oil, fish and hydroelectric power. Although Norway has still not joined the European Union, it has shown vast economic growth in the past years, which is mostly due to some oil deposits found in its waters recently. Concerning the Internet market, around 3 million people access the Internet in Norwegian worldwide. The Norwegian speaking population represents a big part of the Scandinavian markets and offer great potential for business.

Norwegian search engines directory:
 
A4:
http://www.a4.no
Altavista in Norwegian:
http://no.altavista.com
Google Norway:
http://www.google.com/intl/no
Kyasir:
http://www.kvasir.no
MSN Norway:
http://search.msn.no
Yahoo in Norwegian:
http://no.yahoo.com 

Only websites fully translated into Norwegian are eligible for inclusion in the Norwegian Yahoo

 

Polish Language Miscellaneous Facts

Polish is the official language of Poland and is related to Czech, Slovak, and other Slavic languages. Polish is made up of a few dialects including Little Polish & Silesian, which are mostly spoken in the South and Mazovian & Great Polish, which are spoken mostly in the North. The Polish language is spoken by about 46 million people in about 20 countries worldwide including, Poland, Canada, UAE, USA, Latvia, Romania, Australia, Estonia, Finland, etc. In fact, in the United States there are over 600, 000 native Polish speaking individuals alone. Currently, the number of Polish speaking Internet users totals about 10.6 million worldwide

Poland and the Polish speaking population represent a substantial portion of the European and International market. Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization throughout the 1990s and today stands out as a success story among transition economies. Poland is a member of NATO, the European Union and the United Nations and holds a population of about 38.1 million. It enjoys a stable government and a fairly strong economy with a GDP of about 427 billion dollars. The Polish speaking population is spread across the world and offers great potential in terms of online business.

Polish search engines directory:
 
Google in Polish
http://www.google.pl/ 
Logogle
http://www.logogle.pl/
DI
http://www.di.com.pl/
Emulti
http://www.emulti.pl/
Gery
http://www.gery.pl/
Hoga
http://www.hoga.pl/
Interia
http://www.interia.pl/
KPS
http://www.kps.pl/
Internetia
http://www.internetia.pl/
NetSprint
http://www.netsprint.pl/
O2
http://www.o2.pl/
Razdwtrzy
http://www.razdwatrzy.com/
Szukacz
http://www.szukacz.pl/
WP
http://www.wp.pl/
WOW!
http://wow.pl/
Gooru
http://www.gooru.pl/

Onet
http://www.onet.pl
Only websites fully translated into Polish are eligible for inclusion in the Polish Yahoo.

 

Portuguese / Brazilian Language Miscellaneous Facts

Portuguese is spoken as a native language by about 230.6 million people in countries such as Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea Bissau, Macau, Mozambique, Portugal and 28 other countries as well. In fact, the Portuguese language is considered to be the sixth most popular first language in the world. In the United States alone, there are over 600,000 native Portuguese speaking individuals. As for the Internet, there are over 34 million Portuguese speaking Internet users around the world (an estimated 3.1% of all worldwide internet users).

The two most powerful Portuguese speaking countries are Brazil and Portugal. They are both highly involved on an international scale and present in many global business affairs and organizations. Active in the European community and economy, Portugal remains one of the key players in the European Union. Brazil, on the other hand, is the largest country in South America and holds a population bigger than all of the South American countries combined. Brazil is also rich in natural resources and is growing daily in economic power. Due to the presence of the Portuguese speaking population around the world, the Portuguese language should always be considered when tapping into the international markets.

Portuguese search engines directory:
 
Aeiou:
http://www.aeiou.pt
(Portugal)
AONDE :
http://www.aonde.com
(Brazil)
AltaVista Portugal
http://pt.altavista.com

ACHEI :
http://www.achei.com.br
(Brazil)
Clix:
http://www.clix.pt/
(Portugal)
Exploora:
http://www.exploora.com.br
(Brazil)
GUIAWEB
http://www.guiaweb.com
(Brazil)
Google in Portuguese:
http://www.google.com/intl/pt/
(Brazil)
Google in Portuguese:
http://www.google.pt/
(Portugal)
Galileu:
http://www.galileu.com
Terra in Portuguese:
http://www.terra.com.br
(Brazil)
Mundo PT
http://www.mundopt.com/
Netindex:
http://www.netindex.pt
(Portugal)
MSN in Brazil:
http://br.msn.com
(Brazil)
Tay:
http://www.tay.com.br
(Brazil)
Sapo:
http://www.sapo.pt
(Portugal)
 
Yahoo Brazil:
http://br.yahoo.com

 

 

Russian Language Miscellaneous Facts

Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages. Within the Slavic branch, Russian is one of three living members of the East Slavic group, the other two being Belarusian and Ukrainian. Considered to be one of the world's most important languages, Russian is the third most commonly spoken European language in the world after Spanish and English. Over 277 million people speak it as a native language in countries around the world, but it is spoken primarily in Russia and countries that once belonged to the Soviet Union. Within the United States alone, there are over 800,000 Russian-speaking individuals. It is often taught as a second language in many of the Eastern and Central European countries as well. Russian is one of the official languages of the United Nations and has similarities with the other languages of neighboring Eastern European countries. The Russian language is broken up into three major regional accents but all Russian native-speakers understand the traditional form of Russian.

The primary country where Russian is spoken is Russia. This powerful nation has long held an important role in international affairs with contributions to world growth in subjects such as art, technology, education, industrial, etc. Today, Russia continues to hold an important position with the United Nations, with an educated population, stable government and abundance of natural resources. Russia and the Russian native speaking population are also becoming more and more active in business affairs on a day-to-day basis. In fact, today, more than 28 million people worldwide access the Internet in Russian. It is clear that having a position on the international markets means having a presence on the Russian market as well.

Russian Search Engines Directory
 
All of Russia
http://www.allofrussia.net/

Lycos in Russian:
http://www.lycos.co.uk/home/russia

NGS:
http://www.ngs.ru

Holmes.ru
http://www.holms.ru/
Mavicanet:
http://www.mavicanet.com/directory/rus/

Weblist.ru
http://www.weblist.ru
Rambler:
http://www.rambler.ru
WWW.RU :
http://www.ru/rus/index.html

UP:
http://www.up.ru

Tela:
http://tela.dux.ru

Yandex:
http://www.yandex.ru

Yaca:
http://yaca.h1.ru
NIZHI NOVGOROD
http://www.nn.ru/
Google in Russian:
http://www.google.com/intl/ru/

 

 

Spanish Language Miscellaneous Facts

Originally branching off from Latin, the Spanish language is now spoken by over 437 million people in the world as a second or official language in over 29 countries. It is most widely spoken in South America, Latin America, North America and Europe, primarily Spain. In fact, Spanish is the third most commonly spoken language in the world after English and Chinese. In the United States alone, about 40 million people speak Spanish as their mother tongue and the United States is actually home to the fifth largest Hispanic population in the world.

The Spanish language is also considered to be one of the easiest languages to learn because it is phonetically spoken. Although the Spanish language changes in pronunciation and vocabulary from country to country, almost all Spanish-speaking people readily understand the original form of Spanish. Concerning the Internet, the Spanish speaking population accounts for about 81.7 million Internet users (an estimated 7.5% of all worldwide internet users), making it the fourth highest in the Internet community after English, Japanese and Chinese.

The Spanish language is extremely present in world affairs as one of the official languages of the European Union, the United Nations and many other international firms and organizations. Due to a quickly mounting birth rate in Spanish-speaking countries, it is possible that Spanish-speakers may exceed English-speakers in the Americas in the future. From a business perspective, it is essential to tap into the Spanish-speaking market to have a presence internationally.


Spanish Search Engines Directory
 
 
Wanadoo in Spanish:
http://www.eresmas.com
Google in Spanish:
http://www.google.com/intl/es
Ya search engine:
http://www.ya.com
OZU:
http://www.ozu.com
Telepolis:
http://www.telepolis.com
Terra:
http://www.terra.es
(Spain)
Terra:
http://buscador.terra.com.mx
(Mexico)
Terra:
http://buscador.terra.com.ar
(Argentina)
Terra:
http://compras.terra.cl 
(Chile)
Tabarca:
http://www.tabarca.com
Istamania:
http://www.istmania.com
AOL in Spanish:
http://www.aol.com.mx
(Mexico)
Lycos in Spanish:
http://www.lycos.es
AOL in Spanish:
http://www.aol.com.ar/principal/
(Argentina)
123 Search Engine
http://www.123.cl
(Chile)
Excite in Spanish:
http://www.excite.es
Brujula:
http://www.brujula.net/index.html
(Mainly Argentina)
Grippo
http://www.grippo.com.ar
(Argentina)
Mundo Latino:
http://www.mundolatino.org
Antena:
http://www.antena.cl
(Chile)
Mexicoglobal:
http://www.mexicoglobal.com
(Mexico)
Yupi.com aka MSN in Spanish:
http://latino.msn.com
Mexmaster:
http://www.mexmaster.com
(Mexico)
Tiscali in Spanish:
http://www.tiscali.es
Mexico Web:
http://mexicoweb.com.mx
(Mexico)
Biwe:
http://www.biwe.com
Auyentepui:
http://www.auyantepui.com
(Venezuela)
Trovador:
http://www.trovator.com
Caraygaray:
http://ar.caraygaray.com
(Argentina)
Lamira
http://www.lamira.com
Xolo:
http://www.xolo.com.ni
(Nicaragua)
Iguana:
http://www.iguana.com.mx
(Mexico)
Panama 1:
http://www.panama1.com
(Panama)
Ideay:
http://www.ideay.net.ni
(Nicaragua)
Latin World:
http://www.latinworld.com
Buscapique
http://www.buscapique.com
(Latin America)
Buscador Espanol:
http://www.buscadorespanol.com
Hondurainfo :
http://www.hondurasinfo.hn
(Honduras)
Terra
http://www.chevere.com/
(Venezuela)
Centramerica:
http://www.centramerica.com
Todo Latino:
http://www.todolatino.com
Buscadorespagnol.com is a Spanish directory that also uses
Yahoo, Altavista, Lycos etc. for its search results.
Only websites fully translated into Spanish are eligible for inclusion in the Spanish versions of Yahoo.

 

Swedish Language Miscellaneous Facts

As the most spoken language in Sweden, Swedish holds a de-facto national language status but not an official language status. It is spoken by about 9.5 million people worldwide in countries such as, Finland, Norway, Brazil, Argentina, Estonia and the USA. In fact, the US alone accounts for roughly 300,000 speakers of the Scandinavian languages, which includes Swedish as well. Out of the 9.5 million Swedish-speaking people, there are over 7.9 million who access the Internet worldwide in Swedish. The Swedish language belongs to the Scandinavian sub-group of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family.

The Swedish language is also widely spoken in Finland where it holds an official language status, along with Finnish. It is spoken by about 290, 000 people there. Though Swedish is not the official language of Sweden, it is spoken by almost all of its 9 million residents. Due to a position of peace and neutrality throughout the 20th century, Sweden enjoys a fairly stable economy with a skilled work force and a GDP of about 238 billion dollars. Although Sweden is a member of the European Union, the country has still not switched from its currency the Swedish Krona to the Euro. In addition, Sweden ranks the top fifth in the world for providing international aid and exporting weapons. The Swedish-speaking population represents an important factor in the Scandinavian markets, which in turn play a vital role in the European markets.

Swedish search engines directory:
 
Altavista in Swedish:
http://se.altavista.com
Eniro:
http://www.eniro.se/

Google in Swedish:
http://www.google.com/intl/sv/

MSN in Swedish:
http://search.msn.se

Punkt aka Spry:
http://www.punkt.se
Tjohoo:
http://www.tjohoo.se

Lycos in Swedish:
http://lycos.spray.se

Walhello:
http://www.walhello.com/mainse.html

Yahoo in Swedish:
http://se.yahoo.com

Only websites fully translated into Swedish are eligible for inclusion in the Swedish Yahoo.



Lycos.se, Hotbot.se and Spray.se have merged to one search engine; Lycos.spray.se

 

 

Thai Language Miscellaneous Facts

Thai or Central Thai is the official language in Thailand and is spread into many different varieties but all together, about 66.5 million people speak Thai in a number of countries including China, Vietnam and the USA as well. Today, the number of Thai speaking Internet users worldwide is at 8.4 million and growing. The Thai language is in fact a combination of 4 major dialects and 6 other differentiating forms of Thai, yet 60% of the population in Thailand speaks Central Thai. Thai is closely related to Lao, spoken in neighboring Laos.

Since most Thai speakers in the world live in Thailand, accessing the Thai markets means going through Thailand. Thailand is in fact a growing economic power, with a population of about 64.6 million, GDP of about 475 billion dollars and a growing number of skilled workers in IT and offshore outsourcing fields. Quality commercial real estate, growing skilled labor force, increased incentives for investing and a newly restructured financial sector are just some of the reasons why Thailand is becoming more and more present on the international business market. Fully accessing the Asian market, means reaching the 66.5 million native Thai speakers in the world as well, a substantial market in itself.

Thai search engines directory:
 
Thai - MSN
http://www.msn.co.th

Thai - Google
http://www.google.co.th/

Thai - Yahoo
http://asia.yahoo.com/thailand/

Sanook
http://www.sanook.com
Hunsa
http://www.hunsa.com 

Siam Guru
http://www.siamguru.com 

ThaiLander
http://www.thailander.com/index_thai.asp
Only websites fully translated into Thai are eligible for inclusion in the Thai Yahoo.

Turkish Language Miscellaneous Facts


Turkish is the mother tongue of the people native to Turkey. Turkish is also spoken in Cyprus, Bulgaria, Greece, Republic of Macedonia and other countries of the former Ottoman Empire, as well as by several million emigrants in the European Union as well as in North America.

There is a high degree of mutual intelligibility between Turkish and other Oghuz languages such as Azeri, Turkmen, and Qashqai. If these are counted together as "Turkish", the number of native speakers is 100 million, and the total number including second-language speakers is around 125 million.

Internet usage has experienced a tremendous growth in the past 5 years, jumping from 
2 million users in 2000 to over 10.2 million regular users in 2006, for Turkey alone (an estimated 24 million Turkish language internet users worldwide)

The GDP growth rate for 2005 was 7.4% , thus making Turkey one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Turkey's GDP currently ranks 17th in the world and Turkey is a member of G20 industrial nations which brings together the 20 most industrialized countries of the globe.

Turkish Search Engine Directory
 
Netbul (most popular search engine in Turkey)
http://kapi.netbul.com/
Abacho
http://tr.abacho.com
Arabul
http://www.arabul.com
Google in Turkish 
http://www.google.com.tr/
Altanvista
http://www.altanvista.com/
Arama
http://www.arama.com/
Rehber
http://www.rehber.cc/
Vianel Dizin
http://dir.vianel.com.tr/
Nerede
http://www.nerede.com

 

Google is the only “real” search engine in Hindi: http://www.google.com/intl/ur/

Urdu language Miscellaneous Facts


Urdu is spoken as a first language by 11 million people in in Pakistan and by 48 million people in India. It is the national language of Pakistan as well as one of the 23 official languages of India. It is also spoken in Afghanistan. It is estimated that about 10.8 million native Urdu speakers use the internet on a regular basis..

If serious about reaching internet users in India, check out our SEO services in Hindi & BENGALI as well!

 

Vietnamese Language Miscellaneous Facts

Vietnamese, formerly known under the French colonization as Annamese, is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of Vietnamese people, who constitute 86% of Vietnam's population (82.1 Million), and of about four million overseas Vietnamese, most of which live in the United States

In the past years, Vietnam became one of the fastest-growing economies in the world averaging around 8% annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Foreign trade and foreign direct investment have improved significantly. The shift away from a centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented economic model improved the quality of life for many Vietnamese.

Internet use is on a steady rise, with about 14.5 million regular users as of October 2006 for Vietnam alone, in addition to 2.2 million Vietnamese language users in North America. A very substantial market indeed…

Vietnamese Search Engine Directory
 
Google in Vietnamese 
http://www.google.com.vn/intl/vi/
Yahoo in Vietnamese 
http://vn.yahoo.com/
Vietpark
http://www.vietpark.com