If you never heard of "Smart Glass," you will likely hear all about it very soon. Microsoft apparently has a little surprise up its sleeve, as it has been buying up domains related to the phrase "smart Glass," including xboxsmartglass.us, microsoftsmartglass.biz, and other variations of the phrase, VentureBeat's Tom Cheredar reported.

In light of these new domain acquisitions, Microsoft is expected to launch "Smart Glass" for the Xbox 360 during this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) show, which officially kicks off on Tuesday, May 5. It is not yet officially confirmed exactly what the technology is. According to PCMagazine, early reports based on a discreet media event last week indicate that Smart Glass may be Microsoft's response to Apple's AirPlay. This means Smart Glass is a streaming technology that will reportedly enable Xbox 360 owners to stream content from their tablets and smartphones to their television, using the Xbox 360 as an intermediary.

What is Smart Glass?

The technology will reportedly be available also for those who don't own a Windows Phone device, as Microsoft seems to be opening op Smart Glass to the other major platforms as well. As Examiner's Nicolas Gigante reported, Xbox 360 owners will not only be able to download Smart Glass apps for Windows Phone devices, but also for Android and iOS.

With Smart Glass, users should be able to control their consoles remotely, and pull up the Xbox 360's downloaded apps such as ESPN, Netflix, and others, from their devices. According to the Examiner, Microsoft is expected to show a conceptual demo of Smart Glass at this year's E3 show, although it will not actually demonstrate any live streaming during the app's big unveiling.

Streaming-friendly OS

There is no official confirmation that Smart Glass is exactly what the reports have described, and it is not certain when it will be available for download. Such reports, however, do fall in line with Microsoft's intention to make a more streaming-friendly OS out of the Windows platform. The rumored streaming capabilities of the Smart Glass technology seem to make a good fit for Microsoft's plans.

Microsoft's new domain acquisitions were discovered by Fusible, which noted that the software giant bought the domains on the same day the Examiner leaked news of the Xbox Smart Glass. The Examiner's report on Friday, June 1, also suggested the technology would enable people to access their Xbox remotely, get iOS AirPlay-like screen sharing on their television, and more.