Xbox 2 to be unveiled on MTV on May 12th

Microsoft's next-generation Xbox console is set to be unveiled to the world not at E3, as was previously believed, but in a half-hour long special to be aired on MTV the week previously, on May 12th.

The move is a massive break with tradition on Microsoft's part, and will get the Xbox 2 in front of consumers several days ahead of the unveiling of Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Revolution in Los Angeles the following week.

"It doesn't make sense to unveil the product behind a closed door, at a trade-only event," according to Microsoft corporate VP Peter Moore. "We wanted to talk directly to the consumer first."

The half-hour show will be a star studded affair, hosted by Lord of the Rings actor Elijah Wood and featuring a range of athletes, celebrities and even a live performance from rock band The Killers.

Last week it emerged that Sony's pre-E3 press conference has been scheduled to take place a few hours ahead of Microsoft's event, reversing the running order of previous years and supposedly giving the PS3 a head-start over Xbox 2 in the coverage war.

Xbox 2 - or whatever the console is eventually called, as it's believed that both Microsoft and Sony have ditched the sequential numbering system for their new machines - will be launched late this year, with an October / November date currently on the cards. Neither Sony nor Nintendo is expected to launch new hardware until 2006.

Microsoft is also running a viral marketing game to lead up to the May 12th unveiling of Xbox 2, with the "OurColony" game mimicking many features of the hugely successful Halo 2 "I Love Bees" viral game, and giving players tantalising sneak peeks at some aspects of the console and controller's design - although so far the main info to be gleaned is that the controller is probably white, which ties in with reports from sources close to Microsoft that it has gone with a white colour scheme for the system this time around.