Microsoft has introduced traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese and Korean language support for its free email service Hotmail.
The expansion brings to 10 the number of languages Hotmail's 74 million users can use online.
Rose Leng, regional marketing director of Microsoft's MSN business division, said the expansion would help attract new customers in Asia. She said Microsoft hoped to add another 37 million users in the region at a rate of 10 million each year.
"We are offering a way for consumers to keep in touch with family and friends in their own language, whether they are in Hong Kong, Seoul, New York or London," she said.
The numbers of projected users by country are 1.94 million in Hong Kong, 15.05 million in Korea, 5.75 million in Taiwan and 14.76 million in China.
To attract more people to the localised service, MSN has also launched a series of Hotmail marketing programmes in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
As well, Microsoft introduced new security features for Hotmail, including an option of only receiving mail from individuals already listed in your address book. The move will help block spammers who use Hotmail to flood people with unwanted email.
An upgrade for MSN Messenger Service - Version 3.5 - has also been released. Users can now start a chat session directly from their Hotmail account and make low-rate PC-to-phone calls almost anywhere in the world.
