iPod translators.

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* A shortage of Arab-speaking interpreters has been a huge hindrance for U.S. troops in the Middle East. The Army tested several translation devices, but none was as successful as the iPod.

Orlando-based Vcom3D Inc. two years ago developed software that teaches soldiers Arabic phrases and cultural gestures. The company then loaded the software on Apple iPods, which can display Arabic script. Soldiers can scroll through specific phrases that are archived by mission such as vehicle checkpoint and cordon and search. They select the phrase in English and the corresponding Arabic script appears next to it. An avatar, or computer-animated character, speaks and gestures the phrase according to customs.

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The translators...