I'm in the middle of writing some articles at the moment on a technology called VoiceXML.

I've only recently become aware of VoiceXML, but I have to admit that I am very impressed by what I've seen so far, not only in terms of the standard itself, but also the tools that fit round it.

In a nutshell, VoiceXML enables you to create voice-based interfaces to applications and systems, with a voice browser converting your VoiceXML definition into speech, a voice recognition (or keypad recognition) system accepts responses and can then make decisions about what to do next, including loading over VoiceXML or providing simple responses.