Kinect's European tour is the Novotel hotel circuit

(AFP PHOTO/Toru YAMANAKA)

Microsoft Europe are teaming up with Novotel to promote a continental tour for the Xbox 360's new hands-free camera controller. Branches of the hotel chain will host public events in France, Belgium, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain until January 2011.

Part of a marketing blitz that has already touched Macy's stores and Oprah Winfrey's TV show in the USA, Microsoft is keen to let members of the public try out their new tech, choosing Novotel for the family-centered experience.

The Xbox 360 add-on has its retail launch scheduled for November 10 in Europe for €149, following its November 4 debut in North America, and prior to Japan's date of November 20.

Hopping between three Parisian hotels until November 13 before heading further afield, the twelve week tour will be showing off four Kinect titles.

Kinectimals' tiger cubs, Kinect Sports' track & field, the fitness programmes of Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, and Dance Central's high energy choreography are to be put through their paces.

For all four, the Kinect Sensor lets the Xbox 360 read and interpret players' body movements and translates them into on-screen actions, whether that be in the form of stroking a cute wild animal, jumping over hurdles, learning yoga stretches, or copying dance moves.

The Kinect is the Xbox 360's answer to the Nintendo Wii, which came bundled with intuitive Wiimote controls and family-friendly games when it launched in 2006.

Sony has also been bolstering the PlayStation 3, which comes equipped with a Blu-ray player for movie buffs, by augmenting the games console with optional PlayStation Move controllers that can track player movements with high accuracy.

Novotel Kinect Tour, October 2010 - January 2011
October 25-30: Novotel Paris Vaugirard, France
November 1-6: Novotel Paris Gare de Lyon, France
November 8-13: Novotel Paris Les Halles, France
November 15-20: Novotel Brussels Tour Noire, Belgium
November 22-27: Novotel Reading, UK
November 29 - December 4: Novotel London West, UK
December 6-11: Novotel Munich City, Germany
December 13-18: Novotel Lyon Gerland, France
December 20-25: Novotel Marseille Vieux Port, France
December 27 - January 1: Novotel Zurich City West, Switzerland
January 3-8 2011: Novotel Barcelona City, Spain
January 12 2011: Novotel Evry, France

The official Xbox 360 Kinect website: http://www.xbox.com/kinect