Cortana heads to UK, China in beta, while India, Canada and Australia get opt-in alpha program Tonight in Beijing, China, corporate vice president at Microsoft Joe Belfiore announced new Cortana rollout plans for Windows Phone 8.1 users, including a new 'alpha' program to speed up the deployment process. Furthermore, full details about Update 1 for Windows Phone 8.1 were also released, including early access starting next week. As expected, China and the UK are now getting access to Cortana on a beta status, with substantial customization done for both countries, especially in China where some significant changes to the UI of Cortana have taken place. Additionally, India, Australia, and Canada are now part of an "early adopter program" where users can "opt-in and…try Cortana using English language models from the US and the UK." Best VPN providers 2020: Learn about ExpressVPN, NordVPN & more

China and "Xiao Na" China is a unique testing ground for Cortana and presented some unique cultural challenges for the development team. Cortana, nicknamed "Xiao Na", works the same way as the current US version, but there are some unique customizations to better suit the Chinese populace. One instance of this change is an optional "alternative form" where instead of being a bouncing blue ball, Cortana has two eyes and "face". Microsoft tells us this has to do with eye contact being necessary in that culture for these types of applications. Moreover, Cortana has some other unique abilities in China, including: Chinese (Mandarin) in voice, text, and speech

Specialized suggestions like air quality information in weather cards, information about driving restrictions, and the ability to track local TV shows and celebrities

Cortana can look up English words in the Bing Dictionary for people looking to brush up on their English UK and Cortana finally meet The UK is also now getting its own customized version of Cortana, with regionalization implemented to better suit the British market, including: UK spellings and pronunciations

Bing-provided local data on sports teams (for the EPL), the London Stock Exchange, commuter conditions, and more

Localized voice, accent and personality for the UK