Microsoft is updating its Xbox game console to allow people to use spoken commands to surf for TV and movie content, marking the further evolution of Microsoft’s voice and motion technology.

Microsoft is rolling out a number of apps that will allow Xbox Live users to take advantage of Kinect to find content from more than 40 Xbox Live content partners. The move signals Microsoft’s big bet that -- despite the popularity of watching content on small, on-the-go devices like smartphones and tablets -- families still want to gather around a big-screen TV and watch programming at home.

The new Kinect-enhanced offering taps into Bing’s search technology to let Xbox Live viewers use their voice to find what they want to watch.

The apps will be available starting Tuesday for a host of Xbox Live content partners, including ESPN, Netflix, Hulu and YouTube. Microsoft also is thought to be on the verge of unveiling its Windows 8 app store, possibly to coincide with the launch of its new Xbox 360 dashboard and apps offerings.

Microsoft plans to add more new apps from its entertainment partners by the end of December and through the early part of 2012. Newly announced content partners for Xbox Live include MLB.TV, Major League Baseball’s internet-based company, and Vudu, Wal-Mart’s video-streaming service.

The Kinect news is part of a big push to position Xbox to become more than just a game console, allowing users to switch effortlessly between gaming and watching movies and TV shows.

Microsoft has been lining up content partners in anticipation of adding Kinect to Xbox Live. And Microsoft’s Tellme project has been working on ways to better integrate speech recognition in devices people use every day, starting with Xbox Kinect and Windows Phone.

Ilya Bukshteyn, Tellme senior director for sales and marketing, recently said that speech recognition has made greater leaps in the past 18 months than in the past decade.

Bukshteyn pointed out that most devices aimed to make televisions smarter haven’t been successful, partially because consumers don’t want a keyboard in their living room.

With Kinect, Xbox 360 Live users can let their voices be the controls, or they can opt to use a Windows Phone as a remote.

In October, Microsoft announced streaming partnerships with nearly 40 content providers, including Verizon, HBO, Comcast and Bravo that let customers will watch live TV through their Xbox 360 consoles.

In making the announcement, Microsoft said its partners would begin rolling out “the next generation of TV entertainment” to Xbox consoles this holiday, in more than 20 countries.

Microsoft also recently acquired VideoSurf, a California video-search technology startup backed by Al Gore, for a reported $70 million. VideoSurf’s technology can “see” inside videos to find content from anywhere on the web, including Hulu, CNN and Comedy Central, in a fast, efficient and scalable way.

Microsoft said it plans to integrate the technology into its entertainment platform to beef up the Xbox 360 and improve entertainment search through Xbox Live.