Rosetta Stone embraces the social media explosion

There's no denying the online craze for social media and communications. First there was MySpace, then Facebook, then Twitter among the many social-networking platforms. Recently, language software learning company Rosetta Stone (RST) quietly rolled out TOTALe (pronounced toe-tally) -- its latest offering with a social twist.

As CEO Tom Adams previewed to me in June, the new tool adds two new features absent from the basic kit: Rosetta Studio and Rosetta World, which use VoIP technologies that allow users to practice the language of their choice with native speakers and Rosetta Stone conversation coaches. Users can also play games to enhance the learning experience in one of 24 languages.