Calcutta, June 21 :    Calcutta, June 21:  Microsoft India is developing the Bengali language version for its Office XP suite of products. Speaking on the initiative, program manager localisation, Raveesh Gupta said, 'We are in the advanced stages of development of the Bengali version of Office XP and expect to release it sometime in the next financial year (July 2002-June 2003).' Microsoft had released the product with versions in nine Indian languages in August last year. The global IT products major is also working on versions in Oriya and Malayalam. The version in the Assamese language will be a derivative of the Bengali version. 'The main issue with Indian languages is standardisation. Within a language, there are a number of variants in use. This is a deterrent towards development of the keyboard and list set,' says Gupta. Office XP is available in 40 foreign languages including Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean and Russian. Gupta says that Microsoft has received a formal request from the Bengal government and the West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation (Webel). The version will be used to take information technology to the masses through the West Bengal state-wide area network (WBSWAN). The version in Indian languages provides support and advanced enablement across the entire office suite of applications. Besides, Office XP also has a converter built into it to help users of different languages communicate on a common platform. The company has a 'proofing list' for all 48 scripts that acts as the base for its localisation program. Microsoft's localisation program aims to cater to the growing demand for local language software solutions, which is pegged at more than Rs 100 crore. 'The multilingual computing market has been given a boost by the various e-governance projects adopted by the state governments and the increase in PC penetration and internet usage,' says Gupta. The major users of multilingual solutions are the government, printing and publishing and educational institutes. The solutions have been used in the fields of data processing, accounting, banking, broadcasting and internet applications.