Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi this morning inaugurated the first speech synthesiser which transforms electronic text into spoken Maltese.

The launch took place at the Mita offices.

For the past three years, Crimsonwing – a company originally established in the UK – developed the synthesiser that produces spoken Maltese by converting Maltese electronic text to speech audio

The project, funded by the EU and the government, was initiated by the Foundation for Information Technology Accessibility (Fita) and the work was carried out entirely in Malta by a consortium of Maltese entities.

It was released in July and inaugurated this morning. People can now download it for free from www.maltesespeech.com

Mita and Fita chairman Godwin Grima said the speech engine will help illiterate people, others with mobility difficulties, blind people, and those who have dyslexia.

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