Google launches digital Ramadan assistant

Google has launched a Ramadan companion site created to help Muslim users organize their fasts -- and feasts.

File-photo-shows-the-Google-logo-during-a-press-announcement-at-Google-headquarters-in-New-York-Photo-AFP

Google has launched a Ramadan companion site created to help Muslim users organize their fasts -- and feasts.

Launched in time with the start of Ramadan, when one billion Muslims begin a month-long fast that breaks daily at sundown, 'My Ramadan Companion' serves as a digital assistant and features everything from Iftar recipes (the evening meal when followers break their fast) as well as local sunrise and sunset times.

Likewise, the app and online site will direct users to local Halal restaurants, offer daily tips on how to have a healthy Ramadan (like how to avoid headaches while fasting) as well as feature Ramadan-related YouTube content, from drama series to comedy sketches.

So far, recipes include dishes like lentil soup, eggplant and yogurt salad, and samosas.

My Ramadan Companion is not unlike existing apps like Muslim Pro, used by 15 million people in 215 countries.

The leading prayer app also features local fasting times, the full Quran with recitations, and nearby Halal restaurants and mosques.

A mobile version of Shahiya -- the largest Arabic cooking website -- offers 16,000 recipes that can be used to whip up Iftar meals.