Twitter Working on Chinese Translation

Twitter Inc. Chairman Jack Dorsey says the company is working to provide Chinese users with a way to sign up in their own language to the micro-blogging site that is officially blocked in their country.

Dorsey's comment came during a panel discussion on digital activism in New York Monday night in response to a question from a Chinese human rights activist.

He said Twitter is "hard at work" on the matter and "it's just a matter of time" before the Chinese language version is available.

Chinese avant-garde artist Ai Weiwei was the person who asked the question, saying he wanted a Chinese language version so people who figure out how to get past his country's firewall could read what is on Twitter.

"Step one is translation, getting the site accessible in a Chinese version," the Associated Press quoted Dorsey as saying. "That's something the company is really pushing to do."

Dorsey's comments came against the backdrop of Google Inc.'s expected decision to leave China because of the country's insistence on censoring search results there.

The Twitter chairman said translating the Web site is one thing but as to establishing a Twitter business, in that country, "that's very difficult to do," he said.