IBM, Opera to develop browser

IBM and Norwegian browser maker Opera Software say they will develop a browser that can be operated by voice, keyboard or other means. The companies will write the so-called multimodal browser according to the XHTML+Voice specification, which IBM, Opera and Motorola submitted to the World Wide Web Consortium last year. IBM and Opera plan to release a trial version of the browser in the fall.

The planned browser would join two other multimodal technologies under development by IBM: a developer toolkit and planned capabilities in its WebSphere Everyplace Access. The browser is the latest in a series of collaborations between IBM and Opera, which formed an alliance in late 2000.