If you say something enough times, people will start to believe you. It seems that some people in the media think that if you say Microsoft is planning to included an HD-DVD drive as standard in the Xbox 360 then somehow it will (despite the constant denials coming from Redmond). 

Some media pundits have dusted off the thesaurus and realised with Xbox 360 Premium and Xbox 360 Elite already taken then the next obvious name choice for the "new" console will be Xbox 360 Ultimate - which would mean that Microsoft couldn't then release another Xbox 360 console as the Ultimate would, err, be the ultimate console. (Because you stop yourself from using Xbox 360 Fantastic, Xbox 360 Wonderful and Xbox 360 Really Quite Good!)

Anyway, on with the specs of this most magical of new consoles. With three years of development, Microsoft would have finally worked out how to make a console that doesn't sound like a jet taking off with the addition of a near-silent fan (Sony managed to figure that one out with the release of the PS3).

It will also have 1080p High-Definition output via an HDMI port, integrated Wi-Fi, HD audio, a huge 320GB (for the also rumoured launch of Microsoft's IPTV service as well as the near-mythical integrated HD-DVD drive. Of course, it isn't the first time that integrated HD-DVD has been mentioned for the Xbox - back in October, Absolute Gadget reported that a Toshiba executive let slip the news of an upgraded console to better compete with the Blu-Ray enabled PS3.

According to reports, Bill Gates will announce the new console at the CES, taking place in Las Vegas from January 7-10. Other rumours are that the Microsoft will start licensing out the Xbox to other manufacturers. As usual Microsoft hasn't made any comment on the rumours.