• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, June 6, 2011

Microsoft made a strategic move Monday, announcing at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles it would integrate its search engine Bing into the company's entertainment console, Xbox 360. The platform will give search marketers another avenue to reach consumers through paid-search ads. It also will provide users the ability to speak keywords and search using voice commands.

With millions of choices on Xbox Live, voice will supply the means to discover content. Along with Bing, users will find access to Google's YouTube video network. Supported by Kinect, users will search the two sites, among others, using voice commands. This means streaming movies, user-generated content and video ads. Bing on Xbox searches Netflix, HuluPlus, the Web, YouTube and Live TV.

Through Kinect, the future for Microsoft Xbox 360 remains in controller-free voice commands, from searches on Bing to locating content on YouTube or a variety of TV networks. In fall 2011, Xbox will support live television, as the company continues to partner with TV content providers. The content will include news, sports and entertainment.

Microsoft Vice President Xbox Live Mark Whitten said the service will roll out with a variety of content partners by a "factor of 10." Content will grow from hundreds of thousands to millions.

Microsoft plans to make a variety of apps created by developers available through Kinect Fun Labs, giving Xbox users the ability to experience a variety of virtual techniques.

Some of the new features fueling the wave of controller-free entertainment include becoming the avatar, using the scanning features to create a virtual image rather than picking and choosing features with similarities. Kinect Finger Tracking will enable users to draw in the air and have that image appear on the TV screen. Object Capture will allow users to scan in objects and use them in a video game.