Imagine being able to speak with anyone on the planet, regardless of whether or not you know their language. Microsoft says it is on the verge of making that possible.

The software giant's new CEO, Satya Nadella, on Tuesday evening took the stage at the ingaural Code Conference in Ranchos Palos Verdes, Calif. where he talked up a new era of personal computing and unveiled technology intended to break down language barriers, dubbed Skype Translator.

Jointly developed by Microsoft researchers and Skype engineers, Translator uses real-time speech-to-speech translation technologies to let you have a conversation with someone over the Internet who speaks a different language.

During a demo of the technology on stage, Skype corporate vice president Gurdeep Pall, speaking in English, had a conversation with German-speaking Microsoft employee Diana Heinrichs over Skype. Their chat was translated in real-time through speech and text.

Skype Translator will first be available as a Windows 8 beta app before the end of the year, Microsoft said.

"It is early days for this technology, but the Star Trek vision for a Universal Translator isn't a galaxy away, and its potential is every bit as exciting as those Star Trek examples," Pall wrote in a blog post Tuesday. "Skype Translator opens up so many possibilities to make meaningful connections in ways you never could before in education, diplomacy, multilingual families and in business."

At this point, Skype attracts more than 300 million users every month, and more than 2 billion minutes of conversation a day, Microsoft said.

Meanwhile, during a more than hour-long onstage Q&A, Nadella spoke with Re/code's Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg about the future of personal computing, which he says is becoming more personal. Nadella said Microsoft is focused on pushing the boundaries on computing to deliver more natural and human experiences, like Skype Translator.

Nadella was also quizzed about the future of Xbox, and the Microsoft CEO said he has no plans to sell off the lucrative division, The Verge said.

For a look at Skype Translator in action, check out the video below. Also, watch PCMag Live in the video below, which discusses Microsoft's new product.