"This holiday, we expect to have sold in excess of 10 million units worldwide," a Microsoft spokeswoman said. Microsoft has previously forecast global shipments of 10 million by the end of 2006, as well as shipments of 13 million by 15 million by the end of its 2007 fiscal year that ends June 30. The company's latest Xbox 360 shipment count stands at around 6 million units.

The Xbox 360 debuted in November 2005, roughly a year ahead of machines from rivals Sony and Nintendo, whose PlayStation 3 and Wii consoles went on sale in the United States last month.

Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell spoke at a Nasdaq investor conference in London on Tuesday and his accompanying PowerPoint presentation included a slide showing the Xbox 360 outpacing the original Xbox, which launched in November 2001. That presentation, at http://www.microsoft.com/msft/events/default.mspx, showed Microsoft had shipped more than 5.7 million Xbox 360 units in the three quarters following the launch period, compared with 4.7 million Xbox units in the same post-debut time frame.