Windows 7 - Multi-language support in Windows 7

I'm planning to buy a new PC with Windows 7 (English) and not sure what version I should buy. I need to be able to switch into Japanese language mode for writing Word documents and composing/reading email sometimes. I do not need the desktop, menus etc. to be displayed in Japanese, however. I've found some info on the Internet and MS web site but still confused:

1) I have read that LIPs can be installed on any version of Win 7 but looks like Japanese must be installed as a full install (no parent language). If this is the case, can I setup 2 user accounts and configure one for English and the other for Japanese?

2) Do I need to have Win 7 Ultimate or Enterprise edition to do what I want to do?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

Hello, Welcome!
I believe you need to have Ultimate to get the language packs.

Hello Oscar, welcome to the Seven Forums.

You can have a multilingual Windows 7 quite easy. I am using a system with four languages installed: English and Swedish because of my work, German because that's where I currently live and Finnish which is my native language. I use all four languages almost daily, a Windows 7 language pack changes the system language completely.

To start, you need an Ultimate or Enterprise edition of Seven. Then you just go to Windows Update and download the languages you need. Create different user accounts for different languages; when language of an user account is changed it is changed totally i.e. everything is then in the chosen language. You can not swap the language on the fly.

Here's my logon screen, like they say one picture is sometimes worth thousand words:


Kari

Another vote: I use English, Japanese and Chinese and I needed Ultimate.

Kari - Nice pic, I might even forgive you for that Aussie joke you posted earlier

Direct link to language packs, it might come in useful. MUI Packs:From MU Server - Windows 7 Center Forums

Let's make a deal: you can post a Finn-joke and I promise not to feel myself offended... Background info for creating a Finn-joke: we are said to be the most melancholic people in this Universe, suicide rate is 3rd highest in the world. We are heavy coffee and vodka drinkers. We live half of the year in darkness; where I'm born a couple hundreds kilometers north from Arctic Circle the sun was last time seen about a week ago. The long night, Kaamos as we say, ends when sun is next time to see end of January. Opposite to that, around midsummer we have month and a half midnight sun, a very long day...

Kari

The joke is pending, I'll wait to you're not looking .
PS: I was in Denmark earlier this year and it was daylight at midnight every day/night. I'm still amazed by that!

Thank you all for your help!

I've never been to Finland but I have been to Norway and found the people to be very friendly. Of course, I was there in August when most everyone was on holiday and the sun was out until 11:00 pm.

Thanks again!
Oscar