First paid Kinect app lands

Kinect Fun Labs has been out for a while, and is free to all Xbox Live members. Avatar Kinect came out today, and is free too, though you need an Xbox Live Gold account to use it. On Thursday, Microsoft launches Kinect Sparkler for 240 Microsoft Points.

The application was shown off at E3 2011 and uses finger-tracking, background removal and all sorts of clever Kinect technology — or "Kinectechnology", if you will — to create images that can be shared on KinectShare.com.

Will you be buying Kinect Sparkler later on Thursday?

Avatar Kinect and Kinect Sparkler Light Up Kinect Fun Labs on Xbox LIVE This Week

LONDON — 25 July, 2011 — Avatar Kinect launches worldwide today as the newest Gadget in Kinect Fun Labs on Xbox LIVE, home to the latest Kinect innovations and never before seen Kinect technology. The imaginative fun also continues when Kinect Sparkler launches worldwide in Kinect Fun Labs this Thursday, 28 July. Kinect Fun Labs is available in all Xbox LIVE-enabled countries.

Available today, Avatar Kinect is a new social entertainment experience that brings your avatar to life. Avatar Kinect captures your facial expressions and voice so when you smile, nod or speak, your avatar does the same. Invite up to seven friends to join you in 24 imaginative virtual stages – discuss the latest celebrity gossip or news on the Talk Show Stage, try out your hysterical comedy routine on the Performance Stage, or wager who will win the big game in the Sports Party Stage.

Share the fun by capturing animated videos you can post online for your family, friends or fans to enjoy. The Kinect sensor can record your session with a producer’s editorial eye, following your performance, zooming and panning, just like a real TV production! Share your video recording with friends by uploading it to KinectShare.com and downloading it to your computer, and from there, posting it to your favourite social networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more.

Avatar Kinect is available for free to all Xbox LIVE Gold members, but to celebrate its release, Avatar Kinect has been unlocked for all Xbox LIVE members (Free or Gold) to enjoy from 25 July until 8 September.

On 28 July, the Kinect innovation continues when Kinect Sparkler launches in Kinect Fun Labs. Kinect Sparkler transforms simple finger painting into an aerial light show, using brand new Kinect tech such as background removal and detailed finger tracking. Use your body as a stencil and your fingers to paint with light or write with sparklers, turning your room into a canvas. You can draw in 3-D, moving the sparklers in front of and behind your foreground image, and then view your creation from multiple angles by moving your head. Share your masterpiece with friends and family by uploading it to KinectShare.com. Kinect Sparkler will be available in Kinect Fun Labs for 240 Microsoft Points.

What are you waiting for? Check out all the fun that is waiting for you on Xbox LIVE!