At today's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced TV presenter NBC would use the IT giant's Silverlight video technology to broadcast an interactive selection of events and add-ons at the 2008 Beijing Olympics from 8 August, delivering 3,600 hours of live events and customisable coverage, giving users "unprecedented" control over the content.

"This is a very important partnership – it will bring the design world and rich media together to allow people to have new media experiences," said Gates at today's keynote.

NBCOlympics.com on MSN will be the first "long-tail" Olympics available free and powered by Microsoft's cross-browser, cross-platform video plug-in, Silverlight.

Gates was joined by Microsoft president – entertainment and devices division, Robbie Bach, who revealed that the Xbox 360 console's online portal, Xbox Live, will begin offering TV programs from ABC Television and Disney Channel along with films from MGM for download directly to the Xbox console.

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