It will be the first chance for UK gamers to play the world’s most realistic and exciting games online with the ability to talk tactics with other players through the Xbox Communicator headset and download stats, new levels and characters to the hard drive.

Also on show for the first time in the UK will be some of the 175 Xbox games out in time for Christmas this year, including Blinx, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Unreal Tournament, Sega GT 2002, Quantum Redshift and Splinter Cell.

Xbox Live’s features across all games include the following:

Gamertag – a gamer’s unique ID for all games across the global service.

Friends list – allowing gamers to find friends online and invite them to a game — no matter which Xbox Live game they’re playing.

Xbox Communicator – voice communication is integrated with all Xbox Live multiplayer games, enabling interaction with friends and foes.

Matchmaking – QuickMatch enables players to enter a multiplay experience with a single click, and OptiMatch, an Xbox Live exclusive, helps them select games and opponents based on similar skill levels.

High-speed content downloads to the Xbox hard disk – only Xbox offers console gamers the ability to download and permanently store both free and for-a-fee content including new levels, characters, missions and stats.

"Online technology is the next revolution in video games, and it will fundamentally transform gaming into a new form of social entertainment," said Michel Cassius, head of Xbox Live in Europe. "Within five years every important game will be online."