Microsoft's Xbox executives seem to have taken a lesson from Sony's botched launch of the PlayStation 2, plagued by product shortages, and are in the process of lining up production facilities both in North American and in Europe. Friday, Microsoft announced negotiations with Flextronics International Ltd. to establish Xbox plants in Mexico and Hungary. The company is also reportedly working toward an Asian manufacturing facility.

Microsoft has confirmed intentions to launch Xbox in North America and Japan around September next year and in Europe during Q1 2002, Currently, the Xbox seems slated to have an 8G-Byte hard drive, Pentium III processor, Ethernet connectivity and DVD capability. The company has not yet announced prices.

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