Gmail‘s automated message translation is no longer an experiment. Now Google’s popular email platform can automatically translate emails from one language to another. So, for example, you can get an email in Japanese and have it translated instantly into English, or communicate with a friend in French without ever knowing the language.

Automatic Message translation was originally introduced in Gmail Labs in May 2009, where it became a hit with a variety of different Gmail users — particularly business users who work with people around the globe.

“Some people just wanted to easily read newsletters from abroad. Another person wrote in telling us how he set up his mom’s Gmail to translate everything into her native language, thus saving countless explanatory phone calls (he thanked us profusely),” Jeff Chin, Product Manager for Google Translate wrote in a blog post. “Since message translation was one of the most popular labs, we decided it was time to graduate from Gmail Labs and move into the real world.”

The service will be gradually rolled out to Gmail users over the next few days. When you receive an email in a language that is not your own, clicking the “Translate message” button on the header of the email will translate it instantly for you.

Bilingual users have the the option to turn off the feature, and those who regularly receive messages that need translation can opt to have Gmail always translate messages they receive. -mashable.com