The author describes how Microsoft effectively localized Encarta Encyclopedia into several languages, by creating and adapting content so that it would appear to be a native product. The foreign versions of this online encyclopedia differ from country to country; the achievement was not only gathering the appropriate resources to make editorial decisions, but also developing and managing complex work processes so that the project could be completed in a very short timeframe. The technical and procedural innovations in managing this project included 33,000 translated articles totalling 10,000,000 words. The author offers examples of the way Microsoft modified its foreign-language versions to increase sales and avoid potential embarrassment abroad.