Australian Xbox users were given an early Christmas present when Foxtel declared that there will be no data charges for Telstra BigPond customers who are signed up to the Xbox 360 service. The pay subscription service also announced that BigPond TV channels which include the AFL and NRL channels, TVN and BigPond Sport TV will become available to Xbox gamers who use Foxtel's Xbox package.

Xbox subscribers will now be able to enjoy the 30 plus channels available through the service and the Foxtel catch-up television service, as well as movies on demand. Big Pond customers can access this content without fearing that their data allowance for the month will be gone in a matter of hours. This content will now be unmetered which is a big deal for those users who prefer to get their television through their consoles.

Subscribers will also be able to access live AFL matches next year after a multi-million dollar deal with the AFL. If you have an Xbox and you're still on the fence about the Foxtel service, Telstra is letting customers try it out free for the month of June. If you already have it you can get a free month of Showtime or Movie Network movies.

Patrick Delany, Foxtel's Executive Director of Product and Sales, said that this arrangement with Telstra is a big win for Xbox users who can now access thousands of hours of television programming. "There are around 1.3 million Xbox consoles in Australia and getting unmetered access to FOXTEL on Xbox 360 is now as simple as plugging into BigPond internet to give subscription TV a go."

PlayStation gamers might be turning green with envy right now. After all Xbox hasn't been hacked in recent memory and now they're getting free internet usage. Life is certainly good for Xbox gamers these days.