Google's been flexing its translation powers lately, and why not — for moving between at least some languages, Google Translate is as close as you can get to magic. A few users have started seeing translation options pop up on YouTube, both the web interface on desktops and the mobile app version.

The change appears to be server-side, so don't go looking for an app update if you want to see it. And via our own very appreciated tipsters, we've only seen Google offer automatic translation of English into Portuguese. But those that have seen that, have seen it in dramatic fashion: text of video titles, descriptions, and closed captions are translated automatically.

YouTube is, by an order of magnitude, the most popular video site on the web. Enabling automatic translation on it would be a magnificent boon to hundreds of millions of users, assuming Google rolls it out to the same wide userbase it serves with Translate itself. It would be a win-win for Google and video fans.

Eduardo, Agus[/thans]