Here is a simple utility created using Python for translating text from various languages into English. It uses the Google AJAX API to do this.
Usage

prashanth@prashanth-desktop:~$ translate bonjour
hello
prashanth@prashanth-desktop:~$ translate guten morgen
Good morning

KNOL
Google has announced “Knol”. In their words

a new, free tool that we are calling “knol”, which stands for a unit of knowledge. Our goal is to encourage people who know a particular subject to write an authoritative article about it.