Microsoft upgrade to let phones connect to Xbox

(AP) -- Now that it has hooked up with Nokia phones, Microsoft hopes to connect its phone software to the Xbox this year too. It's also planning other improvements that include a faster Web browser and quicker switching between phone applications.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the upgrades Monday in a keynote speech at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. On Friday, Nokia Corp. said it would ditch its smart-phone software in favor of using Windows Phone 7, which launched late last year.

Microsoft Corp. showed a video of three people using an Xbox game console with a Kinect camera. One of them, standing in front of the camera, "dodged" balls that appeared on the TV screen, sent by the two other players from their Windows phones.

©2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.