Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm Go Xbox Live

A couple weeks ago, we reported on Microsoft's plans to unveil special Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm applications for its popular Xbox Live online service. They've now been officially set live on Live, and they're being heralded as handy ways to keep in touch with friends.

For those unfamiliar with Xbox Live, it's Microsoft's online service for the Xbox 360 console. It allows those who subscribe to the service (about $60 per year) the ability to play games with one another, chat, download free (and not free) games and movies, and upload music and videos to the system's hard drive. Although some users complain all of this, in one form or another, is available for free on Sony's PlayStation 3, most gamers agree that Xbox Live's level of quality in applications and overall support is worth the extra sixty bucks.

My Community

Now, users of Live can add constant social networking and music updates to the service's long list of features. For those who already own a subscription, they'll find both the Twitter and Facebook tabs within the "My Community" channel on the Xbox Live dashboard.

Twitter fans can post their tweets on Xbox Live and see it pop up on their friends' PCs. However, they won't be able to perform this function, at least not yet, while they're actually in the middle of a game. Instead, they'll have to quit their 12-hour Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 session and tweet from the system's dashboard. (Source: gamespot.com)

Finding Game Allies with Facebook

Facebook fans now have the ability to sync up their gamertags with their Facebook accounts, allowing them to change their statuses, view other peoples' status updates, and even peruse friends' photographs. Interestingly, Microsoft and Facebook have also introduced a tool that allows Live users to find out who on their Facebook friends list haven't yet added them to their Xbox Live friends list. It's a useful way to find new teammates, but those with robust Xbox Live friends lists may soon need to start lobbying Microsoft to raise the limit from 100. (Source: wired.com)

Last.fm, the UK-based online music community that says it can learn a user's music tastes and recommend new tunes by passing them through a preference filter, has also been made available to Xbox Live users. With over 30 million fans online, Last.fm is a popular and exceptionally useful tool for finding new music. The fact that it's now on Live is very cool, and will allow users to play new tunes on their home entertainment systems, rather than just through a couple of lousy laptop speakers. Fans will be granted access to Last.fm's community features as well as the streaming music, including artist information and the Visual Radio slideshow.