Review of Avatar Editor for Xbox 360 by Protomario
39Playing with dolls was never so much fun!
Xbox 360 Avatars are avatars that represent users of the Xbox Live service on the Xbox 360 video game console.[1] Avatars debuted on the Xbox 360 as part of the "New Xbox Experience" system update released on November 19, 2008.
Users are able to customize body shape, gender, facial features, hair style, and clothing.[2] They can then display a 2D head shot of their Avatar on their Gamercard (although they are still free to use their previous picture should they so choose).[3]
Microsoft has indicated that earning Achievements in future Xbox 360 games can reward players with new clothing for their Avatar.[4][5] An example of which is Left 4 Dead 2, allowing people to earn T-shirts and a First Aid Kit trophy that is held by the Avatar.
Xbox Live GM Ben Kilgore stated in 2008 that the avatars will only be available for games that have a E10+ rating or lower only (featuring content that is considered suitable for children under 10 years of age).[6] This may change sometime in the future, though presumably in Microsoft's own games if it ever happens, to monitor their usage in mature games. It was announced at Game Developers Conference on March 24, 2009 that the XNA framework 3.1 would have API to support Avatars in Indie Games.
You can edit your avatar from a free online editor on Xbox.com. Using it you can edit every feature that you can from a real Xbox 360, and even equip awards that you've earned. It has animations similar to that of the real editor, and the option to enable/disable sounds for it, that are the exact same as the read editor. It is non-flash based, so it is compatible with almost every browser (There are known bugs with it while using any version of Opera that is lower than 10.0).
The Avatar Marketplace was launched on August 11, 2009, allowing users to buy clothes via Microsoft Points.[10] Users are able to buy branded clothing, such as Adidas, from said store for their avatar, as well as game-related clothing, such as costumes from Monkey Island, BioShock 2, Fable 2, Gears of War 2, Halo, Splinter Cell Conviction and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. A player can also update their avatar's wardrobe by achieving certain goals and unlocking different clothing. New clothes and items are added to the Avatar Marketplace every Thursday.
As of late June 2009, various themed clothing articles were spotted in use by various members of the Xbox 360 Community - namely those who work for Microsoft. These articles in question were based mainly around Halo, various T-Shirts, Shorts, Hats and even full body costumes were seen not only being worn by current avatars but also in Avatar Marketplace Demonstration pictures and videos. The people who had access to these also were spotted to have a mysterious achievement in their profile named 'Xbox 360 Beta' and was orange in colour with a Beta symbol and the number 09 - it was concluded that they were actually beta testing the new Avatar Marketplace.[11]
Aside from clothing, the Avatar Marketplace also has animated props available for purchase, these props allow the avatar to interact with them such as a remote control Warthog from Halo, Lightsabers from Star Wars, Footballs, skateboards, pets, and even Pom Poms. According to Major Nelson (Director of Programming for the Microsoft gaming network Xbox Live), those who attended the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2009 were eligible for a special E3 Trophy prop when the Avatar Marketplace actually hits - however to be in with a chance you had to have visited a special stand that was present at the conference.
All avatar awards are listed in the reference site.
Reference-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(Xbox_360)