However, Xbox LIVE is only supported on specific countries of the world, as listed below:

• Australia: International English
• Austria: German
• Belgium: Dutch, French
• Canada: English, French
• Denmark: Danish
• Finland: Finnish, Swedish
• France: French
• Germany: German
• Hong Kong: Traditional Chinese, English
• India: English
• Ireland: International English
• Italy: Italian
• Japan: Japanese
• Korea: Korean
• Mexico: Spanish
• Netherlands: Dutch
• New Zealand: International English
• Norway: Norwegian
• Portugal: Portuguese
• Singapore: International English
• Spain: Spanish
• Sweden: Swedish
• Switzerland: German, French, Italian
• Taiwan: Traditional Chinese
• United Kingdom: International English
• United States: English

Now, if you live in one of the countries above, to join Xbox live you need two basic steps:

1. Connect with Xbox Live via the Internet

All you need is an Xbox 360 and a broadband Internet connection. See the post of Xbox 360 Home Network Setup for more information on how to connect your game console to the internet.

2. Setup an Account and Join Xbox Live

After you are connected to the Internet (and hence to Xbox Live network), you need to setup an Xbox Live account, create a gamertag and select a membership.

• To simplify the process, collect the details of your Microsoft Passport Network account before you create your Xbox LIVE membership. You already have a Passport Network account if you have any of the following:
  • A Hotmail account.
  • An MSN account.
  • An Xbox.com account.

  If you don’t have them yet, visit www.passport.net to set one up, or you can create one from the Xbox Dashboard during this sign-up procedure.

• Turn on your system and remove any discs from the Xbox tray.

From the Xbox Dashboard, go to Xbox Live Area and Select Join Xbox Live as shown above. Here you will have the option to change your GamerTag, supply your email address and password associated with your passport account, your country etc.

• After that, you are required to choose a membership option, as shown below:

If you need to play multiplayer games, you need a paid Gold membership option (as shown above) which requires a valid credit card. Follow the remaining steps: enter a contact address, choose an Xbox LIVE Gamer Zone, set your communication preferences for Xbox 360 promotions, and select a time zone and daylight-saving option. Then you will be all set to join the Xbox Live network.

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You will need two wall Plugged powerline adaptors (network extenders), which basically plug in the power outlet and provide you with a normal 10/100Mbps Ethernet port. Through the electrical wiring, these network extender adaptors create a data network over the power wires. See pictures below: (pictures taken from Microsoft)

Room with Internet Router

In the room with your internet router, connect one end of the ethernet network cable (red wire) to the wall-pluged network extender (left picture) and the other end to your router (right picture).

Room with your XBOX

In the room where your Xbox is located, use another network ethernet cable to connect your second PowerPlug Network extender to the network port of your Xbox 360. The wall plugged network extender will use the power lines of your house to communicate with the network extender located in the room with the Internet Router, thus providing internet connectivity to your xbox.

An excellent product to use for extending your network connectivity using the electrical wiring is the NETGEAR XAVB101 Powerline AV Ethernet Adapter Kit. This kit includes two Powerline Network Adapters offering 200Mbps data rate and 128-bit encryption for security. This model earned an “EDITOR CHOICE” award from PC Magazine and it is really plug-and-play and stable.

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Xbox 360 Home Network Setup

A home wired network can be used to connect your Xbox game console (or any other network-ready game device, such as Playstation or Wii) with your personal home computer, and with your Internet Router for accessing Xbox Live resources.

Setting up a home network doesn’t have to be a scary task. The network diagram below shows a simple home network setup with an Xbox device and a personal computer.

You will need a Cable/DSL Modem and a Cable/DSL Router (these two devices can be the same device if you buy an integrated Cable/DSL Router-Modem). As you can see above, the Modem device connects to your Wall Jack ( which can be a Telephone Jack if its a DSL modem or a Cable Jack if its a Cable modem) in order to get connected to your Internet Service Provider. Then, the modem connects to your Cable/DSL Router, which has many Ethernet RJ-45 ports, in order for you to connect your network home devices (XBOX, PC, Printer etc). You will need a network cable (Ethernet cable), which comes with the Xbox 360 device, to connect it to your Router, as shown in the pictures below:

First turn off your Xbox 360 and connect one end of the Ethernet Network Cable to the I/O port on the back of the Xbox, and the other end of the cable to the Internet Router. Then, start your Xbox 360 and create your gamer profile to get started with both the Xbox 360 system and Xbox Live.

If you want a suggestion for a great Internet Sharing router model, then the Linksys WRT160N Ultra RangePlus Wireless-N Broadband Router is an excellent choice. This device offers both wired and wireless Internet-sharing and 4-port Switch, with a built in speed and range enhanced Wireless Access Point.

After connecting your Xbox console you will want to start playing games right? Before doing that though, I suggest you make a backup copy of each game CD you have. You don’t want to have your expensive video game CD scratched and destroyed. Just make a backup copy for it to have it for ever. However, make sure that you have the original game in order to make a legitimate copy backup.