GLOBAL – For users of the Nokia Lumia 710, Nokia Lumia 800 and Nokia Lumia 900, there’s an app available that enables you to control your Xbox right from the comfort of your smartphone’s touchscreen.

[do action=”boxout”]Xbox facts

66+ million Xbox 360 consoles sold, and nearly 40 million Xbox LIVE members globally.

18+ million Kinect sensors sold around the world.

Kinect for Windows becomes available Feb 1st, 2012.[/do]

Xbox Companion will see you browsing for films, music and games right from your phone, playing them on your console. The combination of your Xbox 360, Xbox Live account, Xbox Companion app and your Nokia Lumia move your gaming experience beyond just gaming and into home entertainment.

There’s no complicated installations involved, all that’s needed to get started is a download of the Xbox Companion app from the Windows Phone Marketplace – which is free. Once installed, you’ll need to power on your Xbox 360 and press the app icon on your Nokia Lumia smartphone. After a few seconds of your phone and console talking to each other, you’ll see a message on your phone telling you that you’re connected:

Another “connected” message will pop up at the bottom of your TV screen. You’re now ready to start browsing for content:

When you first look a the Xbox Companion app on your phone, you’ll be presented with the home screen, a place where you’ll see your latest played games. Slide the screen to the right and you’ll discover the featured section. Here you’ll see newly released movies, albums or games. If you see something you’re interested in, just press it.

If there’s nothing that immediately stands out that you’d like to download or watch, slide the screen to the right again where you can use the Bing search function to find a whole range of media content.

Once you’ve found what you’re looking for – that new album or blockbuster movie – you can listen to or watch it, streamed through your TV – controlled by your Nokia Lumia 710, Nokia Lumia 800 or Nokia Lumia 900.

What about if you just want to search for an app like YouTube or Netflix? Use the Bing search section, type it in and select the appropriate results. Using the navigational keypad in the Xbox Companion app you can then scroll through content at your leisure as you would on your normal controller.

Have you had the chance to use the Xbox Companion app yet?  Tell us what you think of it, using the comments section below.