At the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft promised that Internet protocol television (IPTV) was in the works for the Xbox 360 in the US. One year later, the company promised to introduce its Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV service by that holiday season. Over two years after that, the console did get some Mediaroom functionality--but only when used in tandem with a DVR on the AT&T U-verse service. (Xbox 360s in the UK already have IPTV functionality courtesy of a deal with Sky TV).

Will Microsoft's Orapa project finally bring IPTV to most Xbox 360s?

Today comes a report that the Xbox 360 will get IPTV functionality later this year. According to ZDNet (which, like GameSpot, is owned by CBS), Microsoft is currently working on a project code-named "Orapa," which will combine elements of Xbox Live with Microsoft Mediaroom. (Orapa is a city and game park in the southern African country of Botswana, just as Project Natal--aka Kinect--was named after a South African province.) The service will also apparently incorporate part of Microsoft's still-incubating video and music service, code-named "Ventura," as well Xbox Live elements, such as avatars and Kinect motion-sensing controls.

ZDNet's sources say that Microsoft is pushing to get the Orapa suite of services out by the holidays, presumably as part of the fall Xbox Live dashboard update. It is unclear whether the service would cost anything beyond the current $60/year Xbox Live Gold subscription, or whether or not it would be offered in conjunction with local cable providers. That latter scenario jibes with reports from last November that had the software giant in talks with cable networks across the country for some sort of Xbox Live offering.