Seems like following the immense success of Vocaloid engine by Yamaha, its other competitors are also moving in to cash in on the situation.

According to ITmedia JP, NEC is now offering a pre-trial period of 2-3 months where registered users of Alice Project can help them to test their Rozen Maiden Speech Synthesis Engine.

Users will be able to type in a script of up to 100 characters for Shinku to read, with the aid of a database compiled from Sawashiro Miyuki’s very own voice, in the form of a little animated movie (complete with lip-syncing).

According to the editor of article, the pronunciation seems natural and you really get the feeling that Shinku is talking. Users can even edit the tone to make her speech seems more natural.

Source: Figurakuen フィギュア 楽園

This seems really cool, I would like to try it out if they ever release a Suigintou verison. (≧∇≦)/