Google has taken its once app-only Read Along tool and ported it over to a browser-accessible website.

The site is still in beta at the time of writing, but it is already available for those interested in the tool to check and test out.

As the name would suggest, this tool serves up a digital assistant named Diya, who will help children to read in a number of different languages. There are hundreds of illustrated books available on the platform, along with a handful of different reading levels.

The system is rather straightforward, but does require the addition of a microphone to pick up what your child is reading aloud. As each sentence in a book that is displayed on screen is read out aloud, the Read Along platform will determine whether it has been pronounced correctly, with correct pronunciation displaying as blue and incorrect underlined in red.

This is where Diya comes in, as underlined words that are clicked will prompt the assistant to read the word aloud, therefore assisting children with correct pronunciation.

Based on the kid’s digital literacy, they should be able to enjoy the full library of books available on Read Along online, with the browser-based version having the advantage of a larger screen compared to the smartphone or tablet flavour.

As The Verge reports, Read Along supports the following browsers –  Chrome, Firefox and Edge – with support for others like Safari said to be coming soon, although a definitive date has not been mentioned.

In terms of languages Google says stories are available in English, Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Spanish and Portuguese. No word yet on when more additions will be made, but hopefully when they are, some South Africa options are added to the mix.

With Read Along said to be used by more than 30 million kids since launching in 2019, this new version of it should help boost that number.