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Last Updated: Wednesday, 12 April 2006, 10:32 GMT 11:32 UK
Xbox gamers to 'fight the stars'
Jack Black performing, AP
Xbox users could be taking on Jack Black
Xbox Live players are getting the chance to play against movie stars, as Microsoft teams up with film maker Paramount Pictures.

Via the Xbox Movie Showcase users will be able to download extras from upcoming blockbusters Mission: Impossible III and Nacho Libre.

The package includes high definition movie trailers and graphics for use with Xbox games.

Gamers can win the chance to play stars via Xbox Live contests.

Users will be able to enter for the chance to play celebrities including Jack Black, the star of Nacho Libre, through contests also available for download.

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Microsoft said that the launch of the Xbox 360 console had boosted the number of players that go online to play. More than half of all Xbox 360 owners have used the gaming and entertainment system it said.

It added that the Xbox Live service now has a regular daily audience of more than two million people. Since it launched over 10 million downloads have taken place via Xbox Live.

The Xbox Movie Showcase will feature downloads that make the Xbox Live interface match the style of Mission Impossible or Nacho Libre.

The showcase is the first marketing programme between a movie and Microsoft's XBox Live, the companies said.

Mission Impossible: III is another outing for agent Ethan Hunt, played by Tom Cruise. The Nacho Libre film features Jack Black as a cook in an orphanage who moonlights as a wrestler to raise funds to help take care of the orphans.




SEE ALSO:
Mission stuntman sues film-makers
30 Mar 06 |  Entertainment
Microsoft snaps up UK games guru
06 Apr 06 |  Technology
Fantasy game debuts on Xbox 360
24 Mar 06 |  Technology
Paramount buys rival Dreamworks
12 Dec 05 |  Business
Sony delays PlayStation 3 launch
15 Mar 06 |  Technology
Halo 2 gamers face Vista upgrade
09 Feb 06 |  Technology


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