While Sony's Playstation Network is still down, Microsoft's Xbox Live service for its Xbox 360 console is still up and running. Not only that but according to a leaked document that was posted up today by Joystiq, the service will get a major update later this month that will add a new way to pay for content on Xbox Live.
Specifically, the leaked document shows that the spring 2011 software update will have expanded support for PayPal, allowing the Xbox Live service to expand its reach "to new international markets". This will apparently be the only part of the update that will be noticeable to Xbox 360 users. However the article reports that the update will also support the new Xbox 360 game disk format that will be introduced in future Xbox 360 games later this year. The actual update will be released in a series of waves to Xbox 360 owners between May 19 and May 31. So far Microsoft has yet to officially announce when the spring 2011 Xbox Live update will go live or what it will contain.
The leaded document also reveals something not related to the spring update. It's the launch date for Avatar Kinect, which will allow Xbox 360's cartoony avatars to be controlled by players via the Kinect motion controller-camera. That will include a way for the Kinect camera to track a person's facial expressions and sync it with the avatar's animation. It's scheduled to be released on May 27. Microsoft has already said that all Xbox Live Gold subscribers will be able to access Avatar Kinect for free.
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