Microsoft wants to tap into the user-generated content trend - and will provide tools that allow amateurs to build their own videogames for PCs and the Xbox.

Microsoft is expected to announce today the availability of a free set of game-development tools, called XNA Game Studio Express, on Aug. 30, reports USA Today. The program, a stripped-down version, can be downloaded (www.microsoft.com/xna) to a Windows PC, on which independent game makers can then design games. Microsoft will later launch "Creators Club" membership on its online service Xbox Live ($99 per year), allowing developers to test their games on their Xbox 360.

Microsoft's intent is to inspire amateurs to share or sell their games on Xbox Live, writes the New York Times. Microsoft would not own rights to products created. It says gamers are tired of sequels and genre standards, and believes independent games could create a groundswell.

"On the internet, we're going from a monologue world to a dialogue world," Scott Henson, a director for Microsoft's game developer group, is quoted as saying, referring to sites with user-created content like MySpace and YouTube.

Some 10 universities have committed to adding Game Studio Express to game design curricula. USA Today quotes a Georgia Tech University videogame design instructor as saying his students will now be able to buy an Xbox 360 ($299-$399) rather than a high-powered PC to test their game prototypes.