Australians will be able to access Facebook and Twitter on their Xbox 360 consoles at the same time as the rest of the world, starting Tuesday. We’ll also see the long-awaited launch of the Movies On Demand channel.
Facebook and Twitter are, as you might expect, cut-down versions of the social networks, tweaked to cater for the console interface. One nice feature of the Facebook integration is the ability to merge your Facebook and Xbox Live friends lists.
Movies On Demand brings streaming and downloadable movie rentals to the console, with titles available in HD and SD. But be warned: you’ll need a nippy connection to stream in 1080p. Around 100 movies are currently available in the preview, so expect a similar number for the public launch next week.
“We’re delivering some truly exciting social entertainment experiences to our members,” said Andrew Jenkins, product manager for Xbox LIVE Australia. “The difference for Xbox LIVE has always been our community and we’ve already seen a tremendous response to these features in our public preview. It’s the community that drives us forward and allows us to pioneer new ways of connecting people through the entertainment they love.”
One thing we will be missing out on is Last.fm, the music-streaming service launching in other territories as part of this dashboard update. Microsoft has yet to comment on why Last.fm will not be available in Australia.
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