Companies shifting language aids, trainers to iPods, handheld PCs.

For U.S. troops in Iraq, communicating in Arabic soon may be as simple as playing a tune on an iPod.

A software program, called VCOM Mobile, enables troops to select preloaded English phrases on iPods and display the corresponding sentences in a foreign language. Users can play an audio clip of the phrase and pull up an avatar, or computerized character, on screen to speak and gesture the phrase.

The program comes equipped with 20 military missions, ranging from vehicle control point and cordon and search to patrol, meet and greet and medical triage. Users scroll through those missions and select the appropriate one for access to numerous phrases.

At a vehicle checkpoint, for example, they can choose sentences, such as, "Please get out of the car," "May I see your I.D.?" and "You are free to go."

The technology is intended as a language assistant, to not only act as an interpreter for troops on the ground, but also as a trainer. "We think of it as a job aid. It can be used for learning but also doing your job," says Carol Wideman, president and CEO of VCom3D Inc. of Orlando, Fla., which created the program. VCOM Mobile runs on any device that uses Flash video, such as PDAs and cell phones.

The language software was originally developed by VCom3D under the auspices of the Department of Education. The iPod version was produced in response to feedback from troops who had been in Iraq, says Wideman. Because of a shortage of interpreters, they were eager for language training and communication technologies that are easily portable into the field.

"It's unique in that you can put it in your vest and take it with you," says Wideman. Troops "can learn short phrases that can possibly save their lives," she adds.

The product debuted at an industry conference in December and Wideman says the company is in talks with the Army and Marine Corps. Plans already are underway for an Afghan Dari version.

Other language training programs also are moving to handheld devices.

The maker of the PC-based Tactical Iraqi Language Trainer, which has been popular in the military, is working on a handheld prototype suitable for running on Sony PlayStation portables and other pocket PCs.

"The plan is to make it available as a sustainment training tool, something you can take out in the field with you and use to brush up what you learned on the PC version," says W. Lewis Johnson, chief executive officer of Tactical Language Training, LLC.