By FRANK BAJAK AP Technology Editor
SEATTLE (AP) -- Microsoft Corp.'s next-generation Xbox gaming console will be more of a digital entertainment hub than its predecessor, making it even more of a PC hybrid than ever, Bill Gates told a meeting of business journalists on Monday.
The console, code-named Xenon, is due to be previewed in an MTV half-hour special later this month.
Gates, Microsoft's chairman and co-founder, was vague on specific features of Xenon but said the company's consoles would be evolving to include improved communications tools for making multiplayer online gaming more convivial.
He told the annual meeting of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers that Xenon's software menu would be similar to that of the company's Media Center edition of Windows, which is designed for computers meant to be located in the living room.
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