Microsoft is apparently working with Chinese regulators to allow the sale of its Xbox 360 console in the country of 1.3 billion people. Shanghai Daily (subscription required) reports that Ya-Qin Zhang, a corporate VP for MS in China, stated the company is hoping to launch the console legally in the country, but there's currently no timetable on when that will happen. Gamasutra notes the only officially available console in China -- which has a healthy gray console market -- is the iQue, based on N64 hardware and released in 2003.

Neither the Nintendo Wii nor Sony's PlayStation 3 are available in the country. Ironically, both those consoles, along with the Xbox 360, are manufactured in China.