The software giant is working on a system which would let players on its online gaming service, Xbox Live, send instant messages to a friend’s mobile.

Microsoft UK mobility business manager Jason Langridge told the BBC the system should be live within six months.

It is part of Microsoft’s strategy to connect its various online services.

‘Very near’

In an interview with the BBC News website, Mr Langridge explained that a team at Microsoft were working on integrating Xbox Live with its instant messaging program, MSN Messenger.

Messenger is included as part of a compact version of Windows for mobile phones.

Around 18% of smartphones and PDas in Europe use Windows Mobile as the operating system, but by far the most popular software is Symbian.

“So on my device I sign in with my MSN account and it sets up Hotmail,” explained Mr Langridge. “There is no service fee and you can do MSN messaging chats.”

The alerts would be sent over the internet via Xbox Live and come to a mobile over the air as an instant message.

“It just pops up saying ‘Dinky Dave wants to play Project Gotham Racing’ with you,” said Mr Langridge.

He said he could not say when the system would go live on the Xbox 360 console, but added: “It is six months or so. It is very, very near.”

“You can see the integration that we are building with the Xbox 360, with phones and with PCs,” he said.

Gaming life

The project ties in with the emphasis on community of the Xbox 360. The software on the console has a gamer scorecard which can tells others via Xbox Live what games you have played and how far you have got in them.

It means that gamers are much more aware the gaming life of their friends.

The plan for mobile alerts is in line with Microsoft’s aim to bring together its various online services under the Windows Live umbrella.

At the US launch of the Xbox 360 in November, Microsoft boss Bill Gates talked about tying in its online gaming service with Windows Live.

Mr Gates announced Windows Live in early November, as part of efforts to compete with web-based services from rivals such as Google and Yahoo.

With Windows Live, Microsoft is aiming to provide a one stop shop that brings together a range of services, such as e-mail, search and other elements.

BBC NEWS | Technology |

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, best known for handing out the Daytime Emmy Awards, is expected to announce on Tuesday that it has created an award category to recognize original video content for computers, cellphones and other hand-held devices, like the video iPod and PlayStation Portable.

The category is to have its debut at the academy’s next Sports Emmys presentation, and ultimately be added as a category for other Emmy presentations as well, including those for news and documentary, business and financial reporting and daytime television. The category will not be included in the prime-time Emmy Awards, which are overseen by a sister organization.

The academy already hands out a technical achievement award for new media. But this will be the first time the group has recognized original content for cellphones and other devices, which have gained some acceptance among media-hungry consumers.

Already several studios are experimenting with creating serials for mobile phones, many derived from programs already shown on television. The academy hopes the new category will draw attention to a rapidly growing business that is expected to expand even more as consumers, largely teenagers, adopt new technology quickly.

“Television is transforming into moving images anytime, anywhere,” said Peter Price, president of the academy.

The academy awarded 136 Emmys last year, a number that does not include prime-time Emmys. The list already includes plenty of obscure awards, like best sports “studio host,” “play-by-play,” “studio analyst” and “sports event analyst.” There’s also a sports Emmy for “outstanding live event turnaround.”

While the medium is new, it has attracted interesting players.

Apple recently announced that Pixar Animation Studios would create six short animated films that would have their debuts on Apple’s new video iPod. The News Corporation created the serial “24: Conspiracy” for cellphones, based on a 20th Century Fox Television show. In February, MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, is to introduce “Samurai Love God,” an animated series.

And Warner Brothers, a Time Warner unit, hopes to distribute an animated short series for cellphones based on the comic books created by Seth Cohen, the aspiring comic book writer played by the actor Adam Brody on the hit show “The O.C.”

Despite the academy’s interest, the market for such programming is still tiny. “It is not yet a mass market phenomenon,” said Linda Barrabee, a senior analyst for wireless mobile communications at the Yankee Group, a research firm in Boston. Still, she added, “at some point we will have widespread adoption; this makes sense to me.”

Ms. Barrabee has estimated there are 500,000 mobile video viewers in the United States, a fraction of the 193.6 million mobile phone subscribers. To watch video now, consumers must own a phone with video ability (they are widely available in Europe and Asia) and pay a service fee to receive broadcasts.

Mr. Price said the academy would announce the new category Tuesday when his group will announce it is accepting nominations for the 27th Annual Sports Emmy Awards, which will be given out on May 1, 2006. He said he planned to discuss the new category with sports programming executives at a meeting on Monday.

Entries cannot be from television shows that have already been shown. Potential submissions include video blogs, web programs, event coverage, mobile phone serials and other video-on-demand content. They cannot exceed 20 minutes.

The academy is following in the footsteps of film festival organizers in giving out new-media film awards. Most recently, the cellphone maker Motorola sponsored a mobile movie category at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Mr. Price said the academy came up with the idea for the new category when its awards committee met in early October. Committee members had noticed reports suggesting that consumers were getting more entertainment from cellphones and hand-held devices. “It became apparent this was going to bust open,” Mr. Price said.

“Av said, ‘I can see this happening in the news business,’ ” Mr. Price said, referring to Av Westin, a member of the awards committee.

Mr. Westin, a former executive producer of “ABC Evening News,” said it would take some time for the committee to evaluate new entrants. “We are not going to reward ‘Lost’ or ‘Desperate Housewives,’ ” said Mr. Westin, noting those programs are reruns from television. “What we are trying to do is get our arms around the next generation and take the leading role here.”

Via : NYTimes

Broadband telephony is gaining ground among consumers as people become more confident users of their high-speed net connections.

It offers a cheap alternative to fixed-line voice calls.

By 2009, 70% of voice connections around the world will be wireless, the Gartner report found.

This is due to falling mobile costs and greater penetration in countries such as China and India.

Market research group Gartner predicted that handsets would be available for as little as £14 by 2010.

Skype, which provides software for broadband telephony via the PC, has proved immensely popular with consumers, although Gartner predicts that VoIP-enabled telephones will eventually win out.

“With Skype lots of people have downloaded it but not that many people use it. It requires a computer and a headset and it is more likely that telephone services such as that offered by Vonage will be what catches on,” said David Neil, research vice president at Gartner. Read more..