Friends with Xbox 360

One of the best features of Xbox Live is finding friends for an online game. After all, playing with your friends, whether they're across the street or on the other side of the planet, is one of the main reasons you want online gaming. But it's not much fun unless you know they're online.

Your Xbox Live friends list is exactly what it sounds like: a handy list of your friends who are members of Xbox Live. Actually, it's a list of their Xbox Live Gamertags. After you set up your friends list, you'll see the same list no matter which game you play. You build your list by sending and accepting friend requests. You can have up to 100 friends on your list at a time.

You can also set up private games from your Friends List. Select your crew, and they'll show up (hopefully on time!).

All of these features are just a button mash or two away and another step toward being a part of one big family. And you will be—you've always got friends with Xbox Live. You can check up on each other, send each other invites, and play the same games whenever you like. That's the way we set it up, to make the games that much better.

Your Friends on the Web

When you link your Gamertag to Xbox.com and sign in to the My Xbox Live Web site, you'll see your Friends List and be able to immediately identify who's online and what they're playing. You'll also see whether you've got any pending game or friend invites. If you see that your buddies are playing or you've got some invites, drop the mouse and mosey on over to the Xbox for some online competition.