Microsoft to use new bar code on games

BBC News is reporting that a new bar code technology developed by Microsoft will debut on DVD movies and Xbox 360 games by the end of the year.

Consisting of a small square packed with multicolored triangles, the new bar code can accommodate about 3,500 characters' worth of information (double the amount of traditional bar codes) and will be compatible with cell phone cameras.

Consumers who take a picture of the bar code using special software can decipher the image and be directed to a Web site or an e-mail address, for example. Other possible uses, including reasons for having the bar code on a game disc (as pictured) instead of the packaging, have not been revealed.

Called the High Capacity Color Barcode (HCCB), the new system will not replace the current bar code but will instead complement it, allowing companies to include much more information in a small space.