<B> Web Cites</B>
<I>Sites Worth Bookmarking</I>
By Mary Ann McNulty, Technology Editor
<B>Intranet Spotlight</B>
As the most used site on its corporate intranet, the International Monetary Fund travel site needed to be easy to navigate and constantly updated, said senior transportation officer Caro Cook. Additionally, she wanted the capability to modify and monitor all pages from her desktop. To accomplish that, Washington, D.C.-based IMF opted to put the project out to bid and use an outside consultant. The improved site went live April 1, six months after the proposal, and resulted in a comprehensive resource for IMF's 3,500 travelers.
From the home page, users can proceed to the airline page, which includes a listing of all IMF's preferrred carriers, as well as alliance information including frequent flyer links, worldwide fares and a frequently asked questions section. The hotel page lists, by country, all 300 hotels with which IMF has forged agreements. Each listing shows rates, location and contact information. For booking, travelers can complete an online form that is e-mailed to American Express. Cook said the goal is to use channels other than the telephone for booking. The tactic appears to be working as Cook reported a sharp decline in walk-in appointments.
Other site features include a scrolling news ticker on the home page updated by IMF security and highlighting breaking news such as transportation strikes and overseas emergencies, travel policy, preauthorization information, passport and visa services, a health and diseases page, seminar and charter travel information and a first-time traveler section. However, Cook said the most unique element of the site is the travel agency performance page. "We monitor American Express on a monthly basis, including how quickly calls are answered and complaint ratios," she said.
Another key feature is the country modules, which lists routings and available air services to specific countries, per diems and other relevant information. "The country modules receive the most hits on the entire travel site," Cook said.
Future enhancements to the IMF travel site include more sophisticated monitoring and the potential for self-booking. <A NAME="2">
<B>Corporate Sites To Get Passport Link</B>
Instant Passport, www.instantpassport.com, is offering corporate travel managers a program to link their travel home pages to its site detailing passport and visa regulations and step-by-step instructions to get a passport within 24 hours. However, as the government requires paper and ink--instead of electronic signatures--all requests must be sent via overnight delivery.<A NAME="3">
<B>Translation Pricing In An Instant</B>
In the latest development for a self-service Web site, 4Translation Inc. of Highlands Ranch, Colo., released its language automation technology at www.4translation.com. Customers can submit documents as e-mail attachments and instantly receive pricing and delivery details for publication-quality language translation. The technology accepts files in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, Microsoft Word, HTML or Rich Text Format, and extracts the text, calculates the English words and returns pricing estimates.
Another online language translation company, Translation Experts Ltd. has added an Internet version of its software to its product lineup. InterTran offers automated translations, including that of Web sites to its subscribers www.tranexp.com/InterTran.cgi. Users need only specify the URL that they want translated. Company executives acknowledge that the translation may require human assistance, which it also offers in a post-editing service.