Microsoft chairman Bill Gates surprisingly appeared at the E3 show in Los Angeles on Tuesday, unveiling the company's new idea for online gaming market, the "Live Anywhere" service.

With this service, Gates told a press briefing at the Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, gamers can play or chat in a unified, networked platform whether they are using computer, cell phones, or Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming console.

"You'll have one user interface, one identity, one friends list, one message center and one Marketplace," Gates said. "This is a vision of taking 'live' to the next level."

Gates mentioned that besides the projected 6 million people on the company's Xbox Live online gaming service by next year, there are 230 million people on Windows Live Messenger, and 1 billion game-ready cell phones all over the world.

And the "Live Anywhere" service will connect these, allowing game or entertainment anywhere. "We're going from live to live anywhere," Gates promised.

The feature will be included in Microsoft's next generation computer operating system, the version called Windows Vista, according to Gates.

Microsoft also announced impressive market data: 5 to 5.5 million Xbox 360 units will be sold by the end of this June, there will be over 160 different Xbox 360 game titles available by this holiday, and the Xbox Live gaming service will have 6 million members this time next year.

That's the best start record in gaming console history, dwarfing the company's biggest rivals, Sony and Nintendo. "When the competing consoles hit the market, Microsoft will have a 10 million unit head start," Gates said.

Corporate staff showed a demonstration of "Live Anywhere." One gamer, when he was playing a game on Xbox 360 console, invited a computer user into his game, and then the two played online with different devices.

In another example, one gamer e-mailed a "car" of a racing game to a cellphone. The receiver adjusted the "car" in the cell phone and a PC, and then raced it on his Xbox 360.

Microsoft is a newcomer in the gaming market, which has been dominated by Sony and Nintendo for over 20 years. The company launched its first Xbox console in year 2001, but now its market share has exceeded two competitors that have postponed debuts of new machines.

The annual E3 (which means Electronic Entertainment Expo) show in Los Angeles is a premiere interactive entertainment trade-only event. This year, more than 400 exhibiting companies representing 90 countries will showcase thousands of the latest computer and video games and technologies.

Source: Xinhua