Ananova:

Microsoft has unveiled its new console and says it will be in the shops by Christmas.

The Xbox 360 was unveiled on MTV in a special show hosted by actor Elijah Wood.

Microsoft is the first console maker to show off its next-generation video game machine.

Rivals Sony and Nintendo are expected to provide more details about their consoles next week at the E3 trade show in Los Angeles.

Microsoft has abandoned the black, boxy look of the Xbox for a far softer design, with curved edges and a clean white look.

The machine is designed to stand on one end and comes with a removable 20Gb hard drive. The controllers are wireless and white.

The 360 is powered by a processor with three IBM PowerPC 3.2GHz chips, with a custom ATI 500MHz graphics processor and 512Mb of RAM.

The price of the console has yet to be announced but some speculate it could go on sale in the US for about £160.

A range of titles are under development for the machine, with Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero from developers Rare leading the way.