Microsoft Outlines Entertainment Strategy for Xbox

LOS ANGELES: Microsoft has plans to make its Xbox 360 game console into a portal for movies, TV and social networking, announcing new relationships with Facebook, Twitter and Sky.

In harnessing the popularity of social networking, Facebook users would be able to access their profiles and share photos on their television through the Xbox Live network, while Twitter enthusiasts would be able to post and read messages through the service. Under Microsoft’s new deal with Sky, Xbox Live users in the U.K. will be able to watch live television over an Internet version of the Sky service. Though not every channel available over satellite will be available over Xbox Live, the offering will include a handful of stations, Microsoft executives said. Users will be able to watch TV in a "virtual party room" with their friends, discussing the program as they are watching.

At a media presentation on the eve of E3—the video-game industry’s largest North American convention, which kicks off today in Los Angeles—Microsoft also gave the first public demonstration of its futuristic Project Natal, which it hopes will lead to completely controller-free gaming. Natal allows users to control a game or other programs simply by waving their arms, speaking to the system and moving around.