LOS ANGELES, Oct 13: Software behemoth Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled a new technological assault that will bring music, movies and television into consumers' living rooms through their computers.

Microsoft chief Bill Gates unveiled the expanded Windows XP Media Centre 2005 operating system, a group of software and linked hardware products that can turn a computer into home entertainment centre on which people can download music, movies, watch television or listen to radio.

The updated multimedia platform also connects personal computers to high-definition televisions and other consumer devices to allow clients to download and share multi-media content wherever they are.

"You should be able to have your music, your video wherever you go, anywhere you go," Mr Gates told an audience at Los Angeles' Shrine auditorium, where he was flanked by Hollywood music and film star Queen Latifah.

"For years, many in the consumer electronics industry have viewed digital entertainment as a field of dreams: if you provide consumers with a solution, they'll build it into a larger experience - regardless of cost or complexity," said Microsoft vice-president Will Poole.

"Windows XP Media Centre PC and all of these other devices and services make it possible, for the first time, for the average consumer to enjoy digital entertainment anywhere, anytime and in any way," he said.

The system, operated by a single remote control, integrates sources of multimedia entertainment and allows consumers to harness digital photos, music, movies, live and recorded TV and high-definition TV. -AFP