Xbox Live and Windows Messenger buddies to merge

By Daniel Terdiman
Staff Writer, CNET News

Related Stories: Microsoft probes possible Xbox Live fraud
March 20, 2007; Vista gets Live-wired for PC games in May
March 14, 2007; Xbox Live cues up TV, movie downloads
November 6, 2006

Xbox Live users with friends lists could soon see those lists grow dramatically. Starting May 7, Microsoft will launch a new service called Windows Live Messenger on Xbox 360. This will allow users of Xbox Live friends lists to merge those rosters with Windows Messenger buddy lists.

That means users of each service will be able to instant message each other, regardless of whether they're using an Xbox 360, a Windows PC or a Windows Mobile device.

In addition, Microsoft will launch a new text input device this summer that will attach to the Xbox 360's controller and will let users type messages using a QWERTY keyboard. Currently, sending such messages from the Xbox requires using an on-screen keyboard or plugging in a USB keyboard.

See more CNET content tagged:
Microsoft Windows Messenger, Xbox Live, Microsoft Xbox, Xbox 360, keyboard

Latest tech news headlines

Investor forecasts show Psystar is crazy
Posted in Crave by Chris Jacob

November 28, 2009 3:56 PM PST
Pub fined $13k for Wi-Fi copyright infringement
Posted in News - Security by David Meyer

November 28, 2009 11:14 AM PST
AT&T has refurbished 16GB iPhone 3Gs for $49
Posted in Crave by Matt Hickey

November 27, 2009 4:27 PM PST
See all headlines

RSS Feeds

Add headlines from CNET News to your homepage or feedreader.

More feeds available in our RSS feed index.

Markets: Market news, charts, SEC filings, and more; Related quotes; Microsoft (-1.91%) -0.57 29.22; Dow Jones Industrials (-1.48%) -154.48 10,309.92; S&P 500 (-1.72%) -19.14 1,091.49; NASDAQ (-1.73%) -37.61 2,138.44; CNET TECH (-1.01%) -15.99 1,570.23

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right

The Space Shot
Shuttle Atlantis glides home after station visit
The shuttle Atlantis returns to Earth after an 11-day three-spacewalk mission to deliver 15 tons of equipment and spare parts to the International Space Station.
Gallery
Top-rated reviews of the week (photos)
Crave
Investor forecasts show Psystar is crazy
Documents uncovered in Apple's ongoing litigation show Psystar told investors it would sell millions of Mac clones by 2011. In reality, it sold 768 in the last year.
Beyond Binary
Windows 8 in 2012?
It's not clear what Microsoft's desktop plans are, but the Windows Server team included slides at PDC suggesting a new major release coming around 2012.
Video
Google Chrome OS demonstration
Crave
AT&T has refurbished 16GB iPhone 3Gs for $49
Carrier is offering refurbished 16GB iPhone 3Gs for $49 and waiving the $35 activation fee.
Video
Google Chrome OS unveiling
Geek Gestalt
A wild ride on NASA's massive flight simulator
The Vertical Motion Simulator trains all comers in capsule landings, helicopter flights, and even bobsled runs. Now it's helping in the design of next-gen lunar landers.
Cutting Edge
CERN particle accelerator sees first collisions
Four days after its restart, the scientific work at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland has headed "into new territory. It's been going quite remarkably fast."
Gallery
Motion simulator readies NASA for moon landing (photos)
Technically Incorrect
How can Dell Netbook be 'perfect for tweeting'?
On its Web site, Dell sells a Netbook that is, allegedly, perfect for using Twitter. How can one Netbook be more suitable for tweeting than any other?
Green Tech
Science untarnished by 'Climategate,' U.N. says
Chair of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says stolen e-mails do not damage the credibility of findings that humans are to blame for global warming.