Microsoft is offering gamers a virtual ticket to the upcoming Game Developers Conference (GDC) by releasing video downloads from the event on Xbox Live.

The free high-definition content will include highlights from the keynote address by John Schappert, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business.

Schappert will discuss Microsoft's plans for the coming year in a speech entitled 'A Future Wide Open: Unleashing the Creative Community'.

Other footage will include never-before-seen gameplay, demos, screenshots, game trailers and interviews from the GDC show floor. Users can access the video clips by logging into the Xbox Live Marketplace.

"Microsoft is bringing GDC home to more than 10 million Xbox Live members across the globe by allowing them to download breaking Xbox 360 news directly from the event to their TV," said a Microsoft spokesman.

The GDC is held at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco from 18 to 22 February.