Microsoft just announced the launch of its Cortana Preview in more European countries, pushing the software as an "Alpha" version for developer use.

Cortana is the company's own digital assistant and answer to Apple's Siri and Google Now. Microsoft first introduced Cortana as a beta this past spring, as part of the Windows Phone 8.1 update in the U.S.

At first, Cortana was available only to U.S. users, but sparked lots of interest among Windows Phone users worldwide. The company later rolled out the Windows Phone 8.1 Update and extended Cortana's availability to China and the UK, still as a beta.

Microsoft promised to keep working on updates and add more languages to the software, and the first results of these efforts are now ready to hit more countries. An update to the Windows Phone Developer Preview Program now makes Cortana available as an "Alpha" version on France, Italy, Germany, and Spain.

"Alpha means that Cortana is new to these countries, most of the features in the beta version are available but some are missing or coming soon. For example, flight tracking is not available at this time for alpha. Transit data is currently limited to larger cities and will expand as we have more data," Microsoft explains in a new company blog post on Friday, Dec. 5. "Additionally, reference data (e.g. 'How tall is Mt. Everest') is also not available - but we're working hard to enable this soon! We have also worked hard to tailor Cortana's personality in each language (with local chit chat and jokes) to make her more locally and culturally relevant (i.e. make sure she fits in!). Cortana will also show European football (or as we Americans call 'soccer') league data, including Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and La Liga."

Microsoft further notes that it decided to push Cortana through the Windows Phone Developer Preview Program first because the community can help it improve before it's ready for general consumption. By using and speaking to Cortana developers can improve the speech and language recognition models for each new language, enhancing the software's conversational understanding and broaden its range of knowledge.

As the company points out, developers will not have to file explicit feedback, simply using Cortana will suffice to help her improve the software over time.

"It's so exciting to see the passion the community has had for Cortana and your passion has been one of the driving forces for us to bring Cortana alpha to more countries. Expanding Cortana availability has been a top request on our Windows Phone UserVoice page. Your requests help shape the product and we want to thank you for the feedback and comments," Microsoft adds.

In due time, the company plans to make Cortana available as a beta in France, Italy, Germany, and Spain, just like it is now in the U.S., China, and the UK. For now, interested developers or users in the aforementioned European countries can sign up through the Windows Phone Developer Preview Program here to start using and testing the Cortana alpha.