As if Halo 3 and GTA4 weren't enough, yet another huge announcement came out of the Microsoft pre-E3 conference regarding the expansion of the already majorly successful Xbox Live program.

Gamers will have the ability to jack into the vibrant Xbox Live world from their Windows-based PCs early next year to play games with friends.

Answering the call of millions of Windows gamers for a world that is always on, the Xbox Live experience on Windows will give gamers a consistent online game experience in which they have one identity, one friends list, one set of achievements and voice communications across all games on the network.

These experiences will debut on Windows with the Windows Vista™ operating system and “Shadowrun™” this winter.