In the not too distant future people may look back at Avatar Kinect as the first, tentative steps toward “virtual conferencing.” Virtual conferencing is quite unlike video conferencing in that you all appear in the same virtual space in avatar form, and this gives your interactions a quirkiness and sense of fun which is generally lacking in video conferencing.

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Weighing in at a not-inconsiderable 658.59 MB, Xbox LIVE Marketplace browsers with Kinect are now able to download Avatar Kinect, a new way for you to interact with your friends over Xbox LIVE.

Using the Kinect’s motion and facial recognition technology, Avatar Kinect allows you to speak with (and ‘gesture’ at) up to seven of your friends in virtual chat rooms, and is able to project your body movement, facial expressions and voice onto your Xbox Avatar.

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During a keynote speech at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Microsoft unveiled plans to release a technology called Avatar Kinect, a new way for Xbox 360 Kinect owners to interact with other users online with their Xbox Avatars.

Avatar Kinect uses the motion-sensing, facial and voice recognition capabilities of Kinect to allow your Xbox Avatar to mimic any facial expressions, mouth movements and body gestures you make in front of the device – as you speak, wiggle your eyebrows and gesture with your hands, your Xbox Avatar will faithfully recreate your movements.

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