SDL International, the world's leading provider of translation services and technology solutions, has announced today the immediate availability of TRADOS® 2 TMX, a free conversion tool that allows users of TRADOS software to unlock the real value of their translation memory assets by converting them into a TMX Certified format.

 "The adoption of open systems and standards will help fuel the future growth of our industry," said Mark Lancaster, Chairman and CEO, SDL International. "Freelancers, agencies and corporations are paying more for their CAT products, upgrades and support because of proprietary systems that do not support open standards.  SDL is making TRADOS® 2 TMX available free of charge to allow anyone locked into TRADOS' proprietary TM format to move their memories to TMX, an open standard supported by LISA and accessible to the whole translation community. With TRADOS® 2 TMX, organizations can unlock new value in their translation memories and reduce the total cost of translation."

TMX Certification ensures that translation memories are not locked into a proprietary system and customers have the freedom to choose the tool they prefer to use, which helps to minimize the total cost of ownership. TRADOS customers can download TRADOS® 2 TMX for free and trade up to SDLX, which provides certified support for TMX, at special promotional pricing by visiting www.sdl.com/freedom. The "Freedom to Choose" promotion will last until August 20th 2004.

About TMX
TMX, or Translation Memory eXchange, is the vendor-neutral, open standard for storing and exchanging translation memories created by computer-aided translation (CAT) systems sanctioned by the Localization Industry Standards Association 'LISA' (http://www.lisa.org/tmx). It was created and is maintained by its Special Interest Group, OSCAR (Open Standards for Container/Content Allowing Re-use). Members of the OSCAR steering committee include Enlaso, GlobalSight, IBM, PeopleSoft, SAP, SDL and Sun.

About SDLX 2004
SDLX 2004 is a complete and secure translation environment for corporations, translation companies and freelance translators wishing to boost the quality and productivity of their translation activities. SDLX has become the fastest growing Computer Aided Translation (CAT) tool, recognized for its easy-to-learn user interface, scalable performance, and compatibility with other systems based on modern technology and open standards such as TMX. SDLX dramatically improves productivity of the total translation process, from project creation to translation and quality assurance. Find out more at www.sdlx.com.