E3: Win Avatar extras by playing games

Microsoft has revealed you'll soon be able to win new items for your avatar by playing Xbox 360 games.

The items will include special t-shirts and shoes, for example. But there will also be costumes - "Full-body outfits that allow avatars to come to life," as Microsoft's Mark Whitten put it.

He was speaking during a press lunch following Microsoft's E3 conference today. Whitten also revealed you'll be able to win props, such as a pair of cheerleader pom-poms or a remote control car.

Much of the content will be provided by Microsoft Game Studios, but you'll also be able to win accessories in third-party titles. Raiden's eyepatch, anyone?

The new items will be available worldwide and we should see them appearing in games pretty soon. Whitten explained Microsoft has already created the tools and put them in Xbox 360 dev kit, so now it's up to developers to make use of them.

"We have no details on specific games, but we believe lots of games [developers] will want to do this," Whitten said. "The two groups most asking for in-game avatar rewardables are publishers and the community... So we expect to see a lot of that coming pretty quickly.

"The support is out there now," he added.