14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has announced that the official Xbox web site will be getting a redesign today which includes the ability to edit avatars and preview items and changes before they are bought or implemented.
In order to implement the updates the official site and its attached forums will be down for a period today, although this will not affect the Xbox Live service for the Microsoft home console, which will remain up and allow gamers to get new content and engage in multiplayer gaming.
Larry Hryb, also known as Major Nelson, the director of programming for Xbox Live, says that it's not clear how long the official site will be down and that the company is eager to hear feedback from users after the changes are implemented.
Other changes to the Xbox official site include a better notification system for the account subscription and a new combined view for game requests, friends and messages.
The Marketplace section is also getting better search options and a new filter to get to the content a player is interested in as well as a better degree of integration with Xbox Live friends and the games they play and with the newly released Windows Phone 7.
The Xbox 360 has been doing pretty well lately, managing to beat the PlayStation 3 from Sony in terms of sales in the United States based NPD Group hardware charts.
The company is also working on a redesign for the Xbox 360 dashboard that is set to come later during the fall, introducing new services and making it easier to use for gamers.
Microsoft is also preparing to launch Kinect, a motion tracking device set to arrive in November, which it says will revolutionize the way video game are being played on its home console, with players able to control characters by moving their bodies, with no actual physical controller used.