Microsoft is reportedly testing a version of its upcoming Internet Explorer 9 browser for its Xbox 360 games console. Sources speaking to technology blog The Verge understand the software would be compatible with the Kinect system, meaning users could browse the web using hand gestures rather than mouse cursors or touch screen devices.
The Xbox 360 currently supports Bing voice search via the Kinect, but only media results are returned.
The site’s sources indicate the Web browser currently in test will allow users to fully search and browse the Internet via Kinect gesture and voice control.
Kinect will not be a requirement for the new Web browser, but the app is believed to be “tuned” for the motion-control technology.
No release date for Internet Explorer for the Xbox 360 was indicated, but Microsoft will make a number of Xbox 360-related announcements at its 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo media briefing in Los Angeles early next month.
If Microsoft does add Web browsing support to the Xbox 360, it will do so lagging behind its competitors. Web browsers are currently available on the Wii, PlayStation 3, 3DS, PlayStation Vita, and PSP.
Source: The Verge