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Microsoft E3 conference announced

Plus "Technology-free" Natal showcase.

Microsoft has revealed that its E3 press conference this year will take place on Monday 14th June at 10am PST, or 6pm BST.

The platform holder has previously said it plans to host a Project Natal showcase on Sunday evening ahead of its conference.

(Update: A second invite to the Natal event has now arrived. Apparently it's a "Technology-free event". "Please leave your technology at home, no photography or video allowed." Perhaps they're scared of the Blacksmith of the Future.)

We're expecting the company to showcase its Project Natal launch line-up for later in 2010 and reveal the controller-free gaming system's proper name.

There's also a high probability we'll hear about the rumoured slim version of the Xbox 360, the motherboard for which was seen in the wild recently.

Beyond that expect more on the likes of Fable III and Halo: Reach, and, knowing Microsoft's love of E3 headline-grabbing, a few more surprises.

Last year the company's press conference kicked off with The Beatles, before Steven Spielberg rocked up to extol the virtues of its new controller.

Look out for Eurogamer's live coverage of the Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo conferences on 14th and 15th June. This year's E3 event itself runs from Tuesday 15th to Thursday 17th.