Microsoft will use a new "live tiles" interface -- putting customizable, automatically updated icons on the home screen -- in its Windows Phone 7 Series, which the company is unveiling this morning at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

"They’re sort of super-icons that have a connection to the Internet so they update you on what’s going on in your life," said Microsoft executive Joe Belfiore, introducing the new interface at the Mobile World Congress event. The tiles will pull and display data from social networks, email services, photos, calendar and other information. For example, if a user sets up a tile associated with a friend, new pictures from that friend will appear on the home screen.

Microsoft's hardware partners are building the first Windows Phone 7 Series devices already, and they will be available this year, in time for the holidays, Microsoft says in a news release. Microsoft says the phones will also integrate Xbox Live games and its Zune music software and services.

"Every Windows 7 Series phone will be a Zune," Belfiore said via webcast.

Belfiore made it clear that the company is attempting to make the Windows phone hardware experience more consistent on the new devices, saying that every Windows 7 Series Phone will have three hardware buttons on the front: Start, Search and Back. The search button will connect to the company's Bing search engine. The wide variety of hardware designs has previously complicated software development for Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform.

"We want to have a little bit more consistency," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said, explaining that Microsoft is taking more responsibility for the user experience on the phones, working more closely with its hardware partners and mobile operators. However, he added that the company still hopes to see a wide variety of hardware designs built on top of the basic infrastructure, providing consumers more choice.

Microsoft says it will have more info on software development for Windows Phone 7 Series devices at its upcoming MIX conference.

The company says the new Windows phones will use six "hubs," central places for accessing specific types content and information from across the device. The hubs are for people, pictures, games, music/video, an application marketplace, and one that connects to Microsoft Office mobile applications and email.

Microsoft is under pressure to show the industry that it can be a viable competitor to Apple's iPhone, Google Android devices and other competitors. At the very least, it's clear that the new Windows Phones are a break from the past.

"Forget everything you know about Windows Mobile. Seriously, throw the whole OS concept in a garbage bin or incinerator or something," writes Engadget, based on its hand-on experience. "Microsoft has done what would have been unthinkable for the company just a few years ago: started from scratch. At least, that's how things look (and feel) with Windows Phone 7 Series."

As expected, the interface draws heavily from Microsoft's Zune HD music player. Microsoft has more info and pictures on this new Windows Phone 7 Series site. Here's a video from the company.

Here's the news release from Microsoft's Xbox group (via Major Nelson) explaining how Xbox Live will be integrated into the phone. Microsoft has been talking about this integration for some time, as we've reported previously. Based on the initial list of capabilities, it's not the full-blown Xbox Live gaming experience that some gamers might have been wanting on their phones:

Collect Achievements and build your Gamerscore; View Xbox LIVE leaderboards; See your Xbox LIVE Avatar; Access Spotlight feeds, including the latest tips and tricks, game news, updates and more; Add Xbox LIVE friends to your friends list while out on the go; Turn-based (asynchronous) multiplayer gaming

Ballmer observed that Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system for PCs has done well in the market, and he's hoping Windows 7 Phones follow suit. "I hope 7 is our lucky number," he said.

The last question at the news conference: Will the phones support Adobe Flash? Not at launch, said Andy Lees, Microsoft mobile communications chief. Added Ballmer: "We have no objection to Adobe Flash support."