"And I shall call you...fan-created mini-Xbox mockup!"Though the Xbox 360 is becoming more prevalent by the day thanks to its now-ample supply, Microsoft has recently been making news for a console it hasn't yet released.

　　For most of the year, gaming media outlets have been abuzz by a series of stories regarding a Microsoft handheld. Reports range from the speculation surrounding ultra-mobile PCs, to revelations of an aborted portable project, and to analyst predictions that the Washington-based software giant will get into the handheld space in either late 2007 or early 2008.

　　So it was unsurprising, then, that Microsoft chairman Bill Gates was recently asked about the possibility of a Microsoft handheld. The multibillionaire chairman recently spoke at the D4 Conference, the latest of the "D: All Things Digital" executive summits held by the Wall Street Journal at the plush Four Seasons Resort Aviara in Carlsbad, California.

　　According to a report on GameSpot sister site ZDnet.com, Gates was asked whether the "Xbox group" was working on a "rumored portable media player." After pausing, he responded with something barely more substantial than the "Microsoft does not comment on rumors or speculation" boilerplate that publicists for the software colossus are programmed with.

　　"I have no announcement to make today," Gates told the crowd. Then, he added cryptically, "We are looking at various ways to bring more to that space. There is a lot yet that hasn't been done."