Inside Facebook

While Facebook has been translated by users into over five dozen languages, with many more in progress, until today Facebook Connect has only been available in English. Now, Connect developers will be able to internationalize their Facebook integrations as well.

All developers have to do is specify a Facebook locale in their code, and Facebook Connect will automatically appear in the appropriate language.

However, the new internationalization feature does not override this setting if users have chosen another language in their Facebook settings. Language is a property of the Connect implementation, not of the user.

Overall, it’s another step in Facebook’s internationalization plans that should increase adoption of Connect around the world. Today, Facebook says Connect has been implemented on “15,000 sites, devices, and applications” worldwide, including desktop applications like those from TweetDeck and Seesmic as well as many games and applications on the iPhone.