August 6^th, 2003 (12:00am) - On August 25th Xbox Live subscribers everywhere will get a free upgrade to their Xbox dashboards courtesy of Microsoft. By simply turning on your Xbox and connecting to the Live service, this version 2.0 upgrade will self-install free of charge. This isn’t simply a new look, this will incorporate all of the features Xbox Live gamers have been hoping for from day one of the service’s launch.

One new addition is the ability to access your friends list right from the dashboard when you boot up and immediately see who’s online playing what. No longer will you need to click on the Xbox Live button and sift through account option menus, this feature is right there in your face every time you turn on the machine. In addition to that, gamers can now set up voice chat sessions, allowing you and your friends to set up chat “rooms” where you and up to 15 friends can get together and talk without having to be in a game at all! You can even send voice chat session invites just as you would send any other game invite.

We at GamersMark are very excited to hear the news, as I’m sure you are as well. As if Xbox Live wasn’t already great Microsoft just keeps finding ways to make it even better. There are also rumors that in the future Xbox Live friends lists will be integrated into MSN Passport e-mail accounts, allowing gamers to see which friends are online via MSN Messenger and even receive invitations via cel-phones or PDA’s. What will be next? The possibilities are endless, but I’m sure the collective genius at Microsoft will find a way to do it all – and then some.