With Google’s prospects in China greatly diminished, search engine rival Baidu has seized the opportunity to push its online supremacy higher with the unveiling of an enhanced translation tool.

Baidu’s browser supporting software Sobar and Kingsoft’s translation website Iciba have jointly launched an online translation service, aiming to provide the most convenient and free online translation tool to Chinese users.

With the installation of the latest edition of Baidu Sobar, users will be able to enjoy the services when opening their Internet Explorer browser. While browsing webpages that contain English words, users can gain the translation results, including the phonetic symbols, pronunciations, and detailed explanations, by stopping the cursor on the English words. The words can also be heard audibly if the users have Microsoft’s TTS voice engine on their computers.

A representative from Baidu Sobar told local media that the launch of the online translation service aims to meet the demands of Chinese users. A survey initiated by Baidu shows that more and more netizens tend to find the meanings of English words through online services. However, existing translation products cannot provide high-quality real-time translations and the operations of these products are also complicated.

The launch of the new online translation function embedded in Baidu Sobar will effectively handle these problems. Baidu Sobar plans to add more practical functions in the future to maximize its user-friendly experience.