HOHHOT, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- A series of new Mongolian-Mandarin translation apps and software programs were launched in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to facilitate communication between different ethnic groups.

The 13 apps and software programs, developed by the China Ethnic Languages Translation Bureau, include audio-to-audio translation, audio-to-text translation, and an e-dictionary.

"The audio-to-audio translation software can work in real time and help Mongolian people living in remote areas with limited Mandarin better communicate with others," said Lan Zhiqi, deputy head of the translation bureau.

The software is also expected to help improve the government's ability and efficiency in providing public services in areas with large Mongolian populations, Lan said.

The China Ethnic Languages Translation Bureau is a national-level ethnic languages translation institute. So far, it has developed nearly 40 translation apps and programs for seven ethnic languages, including the Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur, Kazakh, Korean, Yi, and Zhuang.