When Microsoft added support for online services Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm to Xbox Live, it granted the functionality to all Gold-level subscribers, except those under the age of 18. It didn't take long for Microsoft to hear from the vocal "minor"-ity and explain that access would be granted to child accounts as soon as parental controls were in place.

　　Today, Microsoft announced that those parental controls have gone live in all countries except the United States. The US update is planned for a December 15 launch. Parental controls on the Xbox 360 dashboard will now allow them to approve children between the ages of 13 and 18 for any or all of the three applications.

　　Finally, ill-mannered youth can do something on Xbox Live besides ruin multiplayer games. Parents should be aware that they will need to select the "Automatically log in" or "Remember me" options when setting up each application. If they don't, the programs will require parental approval every time they launch.

　　The new additions to Xbox Live have proven quite popular since their introduction last month. Microsoft said in the first week alone, more than 2 million users logged in to Facebook or Twitter through Xbox Live. Over the same span, 1 million Xbox Live users created new profiles for Last.fm, and 1.7 million browsed the rebranded TV and film marketplace, the Zune video store.