Microsoft first debuted it’s snazzy live group video chatting service back at CES 2011 – which we covered. And here we are, a mere 7 months later and we can finally see the dimples come to life! Avatar Kinect is a free download to any Xbox Live Gold member, as well as a limited time trial offer for those of you still rocking the free account for the next month and a half.

Avatar Kinect, available today, lets you – or rather your personalized avatar – interact with or hang out with up to seven other friends in 24 virtual stages ranging from a late-night talk show set to outer space to a sports tailgate party. To make the cyber socializing more real, Kinect’s camera tracks gestures and facial expressions – eyebrow raises, smiles, belly laughs and all.

We’ve known this was coming for a long time and us here at GS are kinda stoked to see if finally drop. We’ve been waiting to get our Avatar’s hands on some virtual party beers for a while now. The Kinect Fun Labs creation allows you to ‘chillin out max’ with around 7 of your closest internet buddies(or alone in my case) in a whopping 24 different virtual stages. Don’t worry though, this is Microsoft – so cash will be handed over. Those of you that will want the ability to draw sparkling lines with your real virtual fingers using Kinect Fun Labs ‘Kinect Sparkle‘ will be forced to fork over 240 virtual dollars this Thursday.

Source: Microsoft News Center