tau decays into strange particles and QCD

New results from ALEPH on tau decay modes into strange final states have been presented at this workshop. Together with already published results they provide strong constraints on several interesting questions which are of relevance for understanding low-energy QCD. The measurements of the branching ratios for tau --> nu(tau), K- pi(+)pi(-) tau --> nu(tau) K-S(0) K-L(0) pi(-) and tau --> nu(tau) K-S(0) K-S(0) pi(-) allows a determination of the vector and axial fractions in the <K(K)over bar pi> hadronic system. The DMO sum rule is saturated by rho and K* spectral functions; however the measured nonstrange contribution at higher masses need a strange counterpart. In this context, vector and axial resonance contributions are discussed and a branching ratio of (4.9 +/- 1.3) x 10(-3) is derived for tau --> nu(tau), K-A*(1270). Finally, the total strange hadronic contribution is determined, R-tau,R-S = 0.1560 +/- 0.0064, and is used in the context of the OPE QCD expansion to derive a measurement of the strange quark mass: m(s)(m(tau)) = 212(-35)(-5)(+30)(+1) MeV/c(2) in qualitative agreement with previous theoretical estimates.