Following the official launch of Xbox LIVE in South Africa in November last year, Xbox 360 South Africa has let us know that Facebook and Twitter functionality will become available to Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers on the local online service from today!

Additionally, a ‘My Community’ channel will be added to the LIVE Dashboard as part of an “ongoing commitment to providing quality gaming and entertainment in the living room.”

According to Xbox 360 South Africa, thanks to the addition of six new EMEA countries to the Xbox LIVE family, there are now a total of 35 LIVE-enabled countries around the world, and from launch these six countries have racked up 3.5 million hours of LIVE service usage, with 630 000 hours of multiplayer play having been recorded across these regions.

Additionally, there are now 30 million global Xbox LIVE members who contribute to a monthly average of over 1 billion hours of service use every month. The addition of Facebook and Twitter to the South African Xbox LIVE service will definitely help us become more connected with this massive community!

I’m not going to try and ‘explain’ Facebook and Twitter to you all because… well, it’s Facebook and Twitter. If you’re online for a good portion of your day, you’ll by now know what these two online social applications are.

For those of you who are still in the dark, here are some provided explanations:

Facebook on Xbox LIVE

”Facebook and Xbox LIVE join forces to connect you with your friends as you interact with the largest entertainment and gaming network on TV. Share real-time status updates and photos with your friends, check out photo galleries on the big screen or share your favourite gaming moments on Facebook right from your television.

“Take bragging rights to a completely new level by sharing updates on your achievements and success in upcoming games available on Xbox 360. All from the comfort of your living room!”

Facebook on Xbox LIVE features:

• Connect with friends using Facebook
• Explore news feeds from friends and family
• Post, read, and respond to comments on status updates and photos
• View photos using the Xbox 360 built-in scaler for great-looking pictures
• With Friend Linker, find friends on Facebook that also have Gamertags and invite them to your Xbox LIVE Friends List
• Update your status with achievements in-game

Twitter on Xbox LIVE

”Twitter, the service that helps you to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages, comes to Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE. Thanks to the app, you can now stay in touch with your friends and family by reading and posting “Tweets” from the comfort of your living room, via your Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE.

“If you want to let your friends know that you’re firing up a multiplayer match, you can quickly and easily read, reply, and post updates online without having to move from your spot on the couch, right from your console.”

Twitter features:

• Read Tweets from people you follow, post new messages and reply to existing ones
• Automatically sign into Twitter when you sign into Xbox LIVE
• Link your Gamertag to your Twitter username
• Connect with Xbox LIVE friends who you follow on Twitter, view user lists and favourite Tweets

(Note: Facebook, Twitter, video chat features and Xbox LIVE Party require an Xbox LIVE Gold membership.)