My favorite tech news site, Engadget, announced today the launch of its Japanese language site. It already offers a Chinese site and I expect the Spanish site to be announced shortly.

Engadget provides an excellent case study of how small businesses can capitalize on the benefits of Web globalization. For Engadget, Google Adwords, now available in more than 40 languages, provides the business model. But it's not just virtual companies that stand to benefit from Web globalization. Consider the B&B who wishes to grab a growing share of those international travelers coming to the US to take advantage of a weak dollar.

A multilingual Web site isn't just for IBM and Starbucks anymore. We're going to see more and more small businesses invest in Web globalization in the years ahead.