Microsoft's developer relations team in the UK and across Europe showed various studios its upcoming Xbox 360 camera, as debuted way back at E3 2004 on an Xbox 359 iterations earlier than the current machine.

The camera was shown primarily as a communication device, enabling users to talk via face to face contact (a terrifying thought if ever there was one) across the Xbox Live network. Interestingly, Microsoft indicated that the device would be announced for launch within Q1 2006 – before the end of March.

Microsoft was coy over applications for the camera, still without an official name, and it's unknown exactly what entertainment it will be able to deploy via this evolution of Mr Eastman's photographic recording device. Any motion-sensing games will likely provoke Sony's legal wrath, leaving little in the way of dedicated camera games for Xbox 360.

We expect an announcement from Microsoft in the next week or so detailing exactly what we can expect from its latest Xbox add-on, so keep an eye out on these pages should you be interested in 'cybering' with rednecks over a game of Halo.