How to Play Xbox Online

Connect your Xbox 360 to the Internet. There are two ways ways to do this: an Ethernet cable directly to your modem, router or gateway or via wireless connection using the Xbox 360's wireless network adapter. Connect to Xbox Live by turning on your console, pressing the "Guide" button, then choosing "Connect to Xbox Live." If it fails, select "Test Connection." The test will tell you where the connection failed and how to troubleshoot it.

Create a gamertag. The Xbox Live gamertag represents your online gaming identity and has lots of information tied to you, including your avatar, gamerscore and profile information. Add a gamertag by logging into your Xbox 360 profile then pressing the "Guide" button and choosing "Join Xbox Live." This will log you in to Xbox Live and display prompts that help you create your account. If you want to play games on Xbox Live, you will need to create a Gold account rather than a Silver. Creating a Gold account costs money. You will either need to enter credit card and billing information or redeem a prepaid Xbox 360 card code, which you can purchase at any home electronics store. The account creation process guides you through each step and allows you to create your gamertag, profile and avatar.

Sign in to Xbox Live using your new gamertag and run the game that you wish to play on Xbox Live. Select the multiplayer option from the main menu and choose to play online. From here, you will have several options, including ranked matchmaking or player matches. Ranked matchmaking automatically finds you a ranked game, where players compete to increase their rank. Player matches do not count against your rank, and you can either manually choose a game or allow Xbox Live to automatically place you in a game.

Download games, videos and demos on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The service is an all-in-one store that has both free and fee-based media. Access the Xbox Live Marketplace by navigating to the dashboard and selecting "Xbox Live Marketplace." by scrolling up with the left thumb stick. Many items are free, which can be downloaded with no hesitation to your hard drive. Others charge Microsoft Points, which you can purchase either with a credit card or a code card, these are sold at most home electronics stores.

Manage your friends list. You can add friends by pressing the "Guide" button, selecting the "Friends" tab then pressing the "A" button" on "Add Friend." This brings up a Qwerty keyboard on the screen where you can type in a friend's gamertag and press "Start" to add him. The friend must accept the friend request for him to appear on your friends list. Likewise, others can send you friend requests, which appear on your friends list or message list. You have the option of either confirming or denying them. You can have up to 100 friends.