Xbox Gaming in South Africa

Microsoft's E3 press event may not have had a big hardware reveal this year, but what it did have was new ways to experience existing hardware - I'm talking specifically about Kinect Fun Labs, a suite of new Kinect applications that look set to bring us closer to what we hoped for when the motion control system was first revealed.

Kinect Fun Labs  is all about creating "magical moments", says Microsoft. Made up of a selection of Gadgets - a selection which will be continually expanding - Kinect Fun Labs features "never-before-seen" Kinect technologies. Those shown during the E3 event include Kinect Me, an advanced Avatar creator that scans in your face and clothing, as well as the new finger tracking technology, demonstrated via the 3D drawing Kinect Sparkler gadget, and Googly Eyes, which allows users to scan in objects in 3D and manipulate them on screen.

It may sound twee, but with a pretty solid starting library of fun ideas and new Gadgets to be added all the time, Kinect Fun Labs could be the key to unlocking Kinect's potential. What's more, it's available for download right now (722.28 MB), and it's free. Go give it a whirl when there's no one looking.