FUTURE technologies developed by Microsoft Corp, including a software that instantly translates foreign languages into the user's own or being able to search for pictures through color or a drawing and a pair of glasses that detect people's mood were shown yesterday in Shanghai.

These technologies and products, which will be adopted on phones and computers, will help the Windows developer to expand into opportunities in the mobile and search markets to help it compete with rivals Google Inc and Apple Inc.

Beijing-based Microsoft Research Asia, the firm's overseas research facility, demonstrated 22 research projects showcasing the future landscape during the annual Innovation Day.

The software allows people speaking different languages to "talk" and communicate with each other by immediately translating a foreign language into the user's own language by appearing on the screen of the phone and also by sound. At present, it only supports English and German. The group is "working on" a software which can support Chinese, said Frank Seide, Microsoft's engineer in charge of the project.

"It's a promising technology in mobile devices. Imagine, taking a Windows Phone 7 handset with the translation function and travel to other countries," Seide said.

Microsoft also offers a technology that can search for pictures by color or sketch without providing key words. For example, the user only needs to draw a blue car and the technology will scour pictures of blue cars.