On Windows XP (U.S. version), do you need to
install "East Asian languages" [1] in order to view Japanese text within web pages? The character encoding is UTF-8, but I'm wondering if a default vanilla XP or Vista can display the text properly.
I vaguely recall the OS asking to install a language pack upon viewing a Japanese website with IE6, but I don't remember what encoding the site was in. I also remember seeing a bunch of rectangular shapes instead of Japanese if the language wasn't installed.
I'm currently using a Japanese version of XP and I don't have access to a U.S. version of Windows. Hopefully someone in this group can take a look at
Yahoo! Japan's top page [2] and describe what happens.
Trying to imagine what a U.S. based IE6 user would experience when viewing a UTF-8 web page with both English and Japanese text. I think the browser/OS will start a process to try and install the language.
[1]
http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/handson/user/xpintlsupp.mspx
[2]
http://www.yahoo.co.jp/
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