As reported earlier in the week, Microsoft released the second major update to Windows XP Media Center Edition, and Xbox 360 is playing a central role. With the console and a Media Center PC, users will have the ability to stream multimedia from the computer to anywhere in the home.

The feature is made possible through the inclusion of Media Center Extender in every Xbox 360. Microsoft hopes that the new functionality will drive not only Xbox sales, but PC sales as well.

PCs equipped with Media Center Edition did not sell well initially as customers balked at the high price tags. However, as prices dropped late last year and into the early part of this year, sales of the machines doubled in only six months.

Microsoft says it wanted to create something that would give the customer more control over where they can view content and on what device.

Statements by Microsoft officials also seemed to hint that more Media Center Extender enabled devices could be in the pipeline, as the company puts a bigger focus on the newest of its operating systems.

Additional new features in Update Rollup 2 include e-commerce enhancements, easier access to online movies and multimedia, instantaneous startup and shut down, called "Away Mode," as well as support for dual-HDTV cards and 200-DVD changers.

Still unanswered, however, is what role Media Center will play in Windows Vista. Microsoft has so far declined to talk specifics about any future plans, although it is expected that MCE could be made a standard feature of the base operating system rather than a separate SKU.

Windows XP Media Center Edition Update Rollup 2 is available for download via FileForum.