Microsoft is reporting that, by Christmas day, the company will have sold 500,000 Xbox 360 consoles in Australia since its local launch in March 2006.

This apparently makes the Xbox 360 "the most popular of any High Definition next generation platform" - which roughly translates to "it's sold more units than Sony's PlayStation 3, but less than the Nintendo Wii."

It's not just the consoles which are selling well, either. According to Australian and New Zealand boss-type David McLean, software is also selling well in the land down under, with over 4 million games sold.

"Xbox users to date have bought more software and accessories per console than users of any other next-generation console," boasted McLean. "2008 has been the strongest year in Australia for Xbox since we entered the market seven years ago and we still have two weeks to go."

The press release also noted that since October, Australians have been flocking in drives to buy games, spending $608 million on gaming gear.

Worldwide, there have been 25 million Xbox 360's sold.