It looks like Microsoft is going to be bringing Xbox Live to the Windows Mobile platform in the near future. One of the better and more reliable sources for what is coming for Microsoft's mobile platform is Microsoft's own job postings. They are looking for a program manager and software test engineer for the project.MobileTechWorld has the details of the two job postings. The first is for a "Principal Program Manager." The key sentence in that posting is:

"We need a Principle Program Manager who can help drive the platform and bring Xbox LIVE enabled games to Windows Mobile. This person will focus specifically on what makes gaming experiences "LIVE Enabled" through aspects such as avatar integration, social interactions, and multi-screen experiences."

For the software test engineer, they describe it as "The focus area of this team is our full end-to-end gaming experience, and it's our teams challenge to ensure the highest level of quality and fun in all aspects of that experience."

Microsoft has already integrated gamertags from Xbox Live with Zune IDs and now it looks like they are bringing Windows Mobile into the fold. That may also be a stepping stone to getting Zune bits on Windows Mobile, something that has been long rumored.

My guess is this is something for WinMo 8 or perhaps a "Second Edition" of WinMo 7. WinMo 7 is due to ship this year and the OS should be fully baked by the end of Q1, or perhaps a month or two after that, but not any later. It should be in consumer's hands by Q4 2010. That means any projects being hired for now will be in the next version at the earliest.

I'll be interested to see how they plan to integrate the two. Having avatar integration and social interactions is nice, but isn't really a killer feature. The multi-screen integration could be interesting. Could you be playing Halo and using your phone as a tracking system or some other instrument panel? We'll have to wait and see. If you are really curious, apply for the jobs. Who knows? You could get paid to sit all day long and play with an Xbox 360 and a super-secret build of Windows Mobile with Xbox Live integration.