Members of Microsoft's Games Marketing team said that Microsoft has not plans to offer a Blu-Ray player with its Xbox 360 game console. The speculations begun when some online media outlets have picked up an alleged Associated Press story that does not exist, along with comments taken out of context from a story in ITmedia web site that appeared back in January.

In an interview with ITmedia back at CES in January of this year, Peter Moore, Microsoft's Vice President, Interactive Entertainment Business and Devices Division said Xbox 360 had the flexibility to adapt to consumers' needs, allowing Microsoft to add features as consumers demand them - as it had been evidenced by the offering of the HD DVD Player as an accessory.

This information is being reported as news and fired up rumors that Microsoft is considering a Blu-Ray drive add-on for the Xbox 360.

"It is important to understand the context in which that statement was made," said a member of Microsoft's Marketing team. "We firmly stand behind the HD DVD format as the best choice for consumers. Current reports indicating that Microsoft has a back-up plan, which includes Blu-ray support are incorrect. We?re fully committed to HD DVD and have absolutely no plans to support other optical formats," Microsoft's marketing team added.