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Cortana markets will be added slowly so that the experience is right for each country

Cortana markets will be added slowly so that the experience is right for each country

When a large business operates internationally it can introduce many challenges.

One of the biggest is understanding cultures and how certain behaviors or activities can be unacceptable in that country and yet be OK in others.

An example of this is Microsoft's Personal Digital Assistant Cortana.

Cortana has been available on Windows Phone 8.1 and is available on Windows 10 Mobile Build 10166 and Windows 10 Build 10240 for PC's.

When Windows 10 launches on 29 July, just 9 days from today, Cortana will initially be available in only seven countries - United States, United Kingdom, China, France, Italy, Germany and Spain.

In addition to those launch locales for Cortana the Windows Team plans to expand Cortana's availability to Japan, Australia and in English for Canada and India through the Windows Insider Program - likely in some form of alpha or beta availability as it was for some of the launch countries for Insiders.

Marcus Ash, the Cortana Group Program Manager, also revealed that Cortana will arrive later this year in Brazil, Mexico and Canada (French).

What many will not be aware of is how much work goes into preparing Cortana for these other countries to make sure the personality and interactions are culturally correct.

In a video posted at the Blogging Windows site (embedded below) you can get a much better understanding of why rolling Cortana out to other countries and cultures is not just a flip of a switch. It takes a tremendous amount of research and work to make sure it is right for that country.

Bringing Cortana to other markets means having a deep understanding of what's important in that particular culture...We don't make the assumption that what is right for one country is right for all.

While a slow roll out is still frustrating for users in areas that Cortana has not arrived yet, hopefully the background helps everyone to understand the challenges associated with the global roll out of the service.

You can watch the entire video below:

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