In a first for the World Wide Web, the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon can be seen this year in a live, multilingual Internet presentation. The live TV broadcast will be simultaneously translated into Spanish and Japanese for the worldwide Internet audience.

CyraCom International is providing the translations and the streaming video for the Web audience is courtesy of RealNetwork's Real Broadcast Network.

The simultaneous Webcast of the 1998 Telethon attracted viewers from 60 countries, who joined the 75 million TV viewers watching the show on some 200 "Love Network" stations in the United States and Canada.

This year, Internet users can find the Sept. 5-6 show online at MDA's Web site at www.mda.org. Web users will need to download RealNetworks' free RealPlayer 5.0 or RealPlayer G2 software, which they can get through MDA's Web site.

Accessing the Telethon Webcast in English, Spanish or Japanese will require only the click of a button at the MDA Web site.

Telethon Executive Producer Robert Ross said he's proud to offer the Telethon to Internet users around the world and to make it available in three languages.

"The MDA Telethon has a history of firsts and this year adds to that exciting repertoire," said Ross, also MDA's senior vice president and executive director. "Now, with the help of RealNetworks and CyraCom, many families can learn about MDA's rapid research progress in their native languages."

RealNetworks, based in Seattle, develops and markets software products and services designed to enable users of personal computers and other consumer electronic devices to send and receive audio, video and other multimedia services using the World Wide Web. More than 85 percent of all Web pages on the Internet with streaming media use RealAudio, RealVideo or RealFlash, the company says.

The live Telethon Webcast is supported by AT&T, the host for MDA's Web site. An MDA national sponsor, AT&T helped create MDA's popular Web site. With AT&T's SecureBuy Service, donors can make online contributions with credit cards during the Telethon and year-round.

Besides providing translation services pro bono for the Telethon Webcast, CyraCom International, based in Tucson, Ariz., is working with MDA to bring CyraPhone service to hospitals and institutions where MDA clinics are located.

The CyraPhone, among the company's many services, is a telephone with dual handsets that allows medical personnel to speak with patients who speak a language other than English. CyraCom is donating to MDA part of the fee generated from each of the medical facilities hosting MDA clinics that newly purchases the service.

CyraCom offers translation and interpretation services for more than 150 languages around the clock in just a few minutes. The company has some 5,000 translators to help medical teams better communicate with patients. About 40 percent of U.S. hospitals use the CyraPhone, CyraCom says.

In the weeks before the MDA Telethon, Internet users can log on to MDA's 850-page Web site to see highlights from last year's show, send Telethon-themed e-mail postcards and much more.