The technical wizards over at Skype are working on something that could be a truly amazing breakthrough: real-time translation.

They are slowly rolling out their Skype Translator preview program which will kick-off with two spoken languages, Spanish and English.

The system is designed to translate spoken words into text and audio on a nearly instant basis, so it’s like what we’ve seen in the movies forever.

They will also provide instant messaging translation in over 40 languages in the initial roll out with plans to expand to other spoken languages over time.

If the demo video of two groups of school children in the US and Mexico are any indication, this is going to be epic.

The system uses machine learning which means that the more the technology is used, the smarter it gets.

At the moment, the preview is only available to those that have signed up for test that are running Windows 8.1 on their computer or mobile device.