Microsoft's Kinect chief hopes that the Xbox 360 camera peripheral will soon be able to react to players' body posture and tone of voice.

Speaking to MCV, Kudo Tsunoda explained that Microsoft is currently focusing its R&D efforts on "how we can make people more like actors within a narrative."

"I think the work done in Mass Effect 3 has been awesome," he said.

"We want to get to the stage where not only can Kinect detect what you're saying but also tone of voice and body stance, and work that into the narrative. There are some really compelling experiences to be gained from that."

He added that another area of interest going forward is "creating experiences that help you develop real world skills that help you in other parts of your life."

"It's been great to see how people are using Kinect in ways that we would never have thought of," he concluded.

"I'm continually surprised by the stuff we see from Kinect's development community on a daily basis. That's what I'm most excited about: how much room there is to invent new things with Kinect."

A report earlier last year suggested that Microsoft plans to release a second version of its Xbox 360 add-on that is so accurate that it can lip read.

A handful of major Kinect titles have hit the shelves in recent weeks. See our Kinect Star Wars, Kinect Rush and Diabolical Pitch reviews for more on how they shape up.