Hong Kong-based Outblaze will start talking back to users with a new service feature called Audio Webmail.

The first client to offer Audio Webmail is mail.com, a leading personalized email provider. mail.com users can now choose to have emails read aloud in 11 languages thanks to cutting-edge speech synthesis integrated directly within the webmail client.

With the addition of Audio Webmail to its suite of messaging services, Outblaze offers an integrated web-based service that employs sophisticated speech synthesis to read out loud the contents of email messages. The service also lets users generate 'podmail' at the click of a button, that is to say convert an entire email message to an audio file for easy transfer to personal devices such as portable media players.

Audio Webmail works in 11 languages, including UK and US English, German, Italian, French, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Swedish, Portuguese, and Dutch, with additional languages to be added in the future. No downloads or software installs are required; the service works directly from the web browser and is therefore available on any computer, unlike add-on software for email clients.

Audio Webmail is the result of a partnership between Outblaze and ReadSpeaker, a leader in speech-enabling the Web.