It’s not often you attend a big event characterized in the first sentence of the accompanying press release by the phrases “universal desire,” “community,” “passions” and “friends and family,” perhaps not since the “liberty, equality, fraternity” of the French Revolution.

But that’s how Microsoft Corp. opens up its announcement Sunday ahead of Bill Gates keynote speech at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas — where the software giant will showcase dozens of products and services aimed at consumer markets this year.

“As the magic of software makes it easier for people to be creators, publishers and consumers of digital content, it is expanding the way we think about community and entertainment,” Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said in the statement.

Gates’ speech featured Microsoft’s plans to offer an Xbox 360 game console that doubles as a set-top box for its fledgling Internet Protocol television (IPTV) service, which delivers high-quality video over Internet networks.

The Microsoft co-founder highlighted Vista’s ability to handle various forms of digital media on an eye-catching, round living room computer, shaped like a sleek hat box, from Japan’s Sony Corp. and a touch-screen desktop PC from Hewlett-Packard. New PCs running Windows Vista will be released to the public on Jan. 30.

Gates also took the wraps off Windows Home Server, consumer software due out later this year to provide homes a central location to store music, photos, videos and other digital content. Users will also be able to access that content away from home, using a Microsoft Windows Live Web address.

IPTV carriers, such as AT&T , will be able to offer the new set-top box in the 2007 holiday season, Gates will say. The IPTV Xbox 360 set-top box would allow users to not only play games, but also grab videos from any PC in the home and display it on the living room television, download high-definition video, and have a normal TV viewing on par — if not better — than cable or satellite.

As a part of his keynote address, Gates provided a first look at a number of Windows Vista features like DreamScene, which transforms the static PC desktop background wallpaper into full-motion, personalized videos.

Earlier, Gates announced a partnership between Microsoft and Ford to deliver Sync, a voice-activated means to connect personal electronic devices including phones and music players to vehicles. Sync, developed by Ford and based on the Microsoft Auto platform, will offer hands-free phone dialing, address-book synchronization, and other features such as the ability to read text messages through the car’s audio system. Drivers can also control music players using voice commands or controls on the steering wheel.

Read the full Reuters story from Daisuke Wakabayashi