Thursday, August 28, 2008

Xbox Live to enable voters to register for U.S. election

If there was any doubt that the gaming industry was an integral part of modern society, those ideas have been dispelled. It has been announced that Xbox 360 owners in the U.S. are being given the option to register to vote in the upcoming presidential election via the Xbox Live online service. A non-government organisation, which has been established to encourage youth participation in politics has created a partnership with Microsoft to develop a portal that allows users to register to vote, take part in polls and voice their opinions to candidates via online forums. The organisation, Rock the Vote, launched the service on Monday (August 25).

‘Xbox is a natural partner to help us reach out to youth voters,’ said Heather Smith, executive director, Rock the Vote. ‘To realize our goal of registering 2 million young Americans by this fall, we need to go where young Americans are, and there’s no doubt in our minds that many are on Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE.’

The success of the service remains to be seen but if it does succeed, the potential implications for politics and future presidential campaigns are huge.

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