Microsoft backed Toshiba's HD DVD in its losing effort against Sony's Blu-ray in the next-gen disc format wars, but it doesn't appear to be holding grudges. At the company's Mix08 Internet conference in Las Vegas yesterday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed that Microsoft will be working with Blu-ray, according to a Seattle Post-Intelligencer report.

　　"We've already been working on, for example, in Windows, device driver support for Blu-ray drives and the like, and I think the world moves on," Ballmer said. "Toshiba has moved on. We've moved on, and we'll support Blu-ray in ways that make sense." The report doesn't mention the Xbox 360 or the hypothetical Blu-ray add-on that has been rumored of, hinted at, and reported on.

　　As of press time, Microsoft had not returned requests for comment on the issue in light of Ballmer's presentation. However, the company had already addressed the possibility of an Xbox 360 Blu-ray drive earlier this week, with a representative saying, "We have made no such announcement. Games are what are driving consumers to purchase game consoles, and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster games available."