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MS: Xbox 360 has sold 39m units

Ballmer outs latest global total.

Microsoft head honcho Steve Ballmer has told a CES 2010 audience that there are over 39 million Xbox 360s in homes around the world.

Microsoft also announced that more than 2.2 million people played on Xbox Live at the same time between Christmas and the New Year, and one new user appeared every second.

And half of Xbox Live's 20-million strong user-base have logged onto the new social features Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, Last.fm, Sky, Canal and Zune.

Those figures kick-started a delayed keynote, the beginning of which was plagued by technical difficulties.

But while they were recovering, Microsoft's press site was publishing, spilling the beans on a "holiday 2010" release date for Project Natal and announcing the Xbox Game Room for Xbox Live.

More as it happens.