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MikeMan91389
12-04-2003, 05:48 AM
Whoa.... This is pretty sweet... maybe we'll start seeing them on xbl!
http://www.forbes.com/technology/newswire/2003/12/04/rtr1168981.html

Microsoft, USO to link troops worldwide via Xbox
Reuters, 12.04.03, 5:00 AM ET


By Ben Berkowitz

LOS ANGELES, Dec 4 (Reuters) - For soldiers who go to war all day long, the military thinks it might be relaxing for them at night to go AWOL, virtually, with friends and family thousands of miles away.

Microsoft Corp. (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people) said on Thursday it will work with the United States Air Force and troop morale organization, the USO, to set up its Xbox video game console, games and Internet connections at USO centers worldwide so soldiers can get away from the real action by playing games and chatting with their friends and family back home.

The program will start with eight centers, including two in New York, one in Los Angeles, and centers in Korea and Germany.

Ned Powell, the president and chief executive of the USO, told Reuters that for soldiers heading to war, the organization wants to offer "any activity that provides a diversion from where they're going and what they're doing.

"It's a program that the Air Force started, and it's now been spilled over into us," Powell told Reuters ahead of a launch event for "Operation Live Connections" in New York.

Microsoft is providing some of its own games for the USO centers, including "Project Gotham Racing 2," "NFL Fever 2004" and "Crimson Skies."

The company is also donating consoles, monitors and other equipment to the effort. The USO, a nonprofit organization, relies largely on donations from the public through its Web site at USO.org (http://www.uso.org) and elsewhere to fund its operations.

The games take advantage of Microsoft's Xbox Live online gaming service, which was recently upgraded to allow users to conduct voice chats over broadband Internet connections without actually playing a game.

Previously, the U.S. Air Forces in Europe, known by the military acronym USAFE, outfitted 17 bases there with Xboxes, Xbox Live connections and games so airmen could pass their time.

Arthur Myers, director of Air Force Services, the Air Force organization responsible for quality-of-life issues, said the program was such a success it will be expanded to nearly every Air Force base around the world.

"When I go to bases, I have enlisted calls with all the young airmen, and they tell me this is the greatest thing since sliced bread," Myers told Reuters.

The military and the games industry have had closer ties in recent years, as the armed forces realize both the recreational and educational value of games and game publishers look at military simulations as rich material for new game titles.

Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service

Brevity
12-04-2003, 07:45 AM
Sounds like a great idea and hell once these boys get out if they dont already have a XB then maybe they can pick one up.

MikeMan91389
12-05-2003, 02:04 PM
Yeah.. will prolly help MS out in the long run!GO SOLDIERS GO!