This paper addresses some of the practical aspects of translation that the authors have experienced in the process of implementing a bilingual on-line lexicon developed as part of an integrated multimedia language learning programme – the Virtual language Centre (VLC http://vlc.polyu.edu.hk). It identifies some of the difficulties involved in translating certain culture-specific items into Chinese, and points out some flaws in the existing English-Chinese bilingual dictionaries. Finally this paper offers examples of modification as adopted in the VLC on-line bilingual lexicon, as well as further considerations relating to the translation of other groups of words such as business and banking terms.