Microsoft has unveiled 15 Xbox 360 games that will be available on December 2, the official launch date for the console in Europe.

Topping the bill are Electronic Arts' sporting classics Madden NFL 06, NBA Live 06, FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 06 along with Need for Speed: Most Wanted.

Activision's Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, Condemned: Criminal Origins by Sega and Microsoft Game Studios highly anticipated Project Gotham Racing 3 will also hit European shelves on December 2.

Other games available on or before the console launch are Amped 3, Call of Duty 2, Kameo: Elements of Power, Perfect Dark Zero, Peter Jackson's King Kong and Quake 4.

Games such as Dead or Alive 4, The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Ridge Racer 6 will be released in the weeks after the launch.

"The next generation of gaming begins on 2 December in Europe, and there has never been a more exciting time to be a gamer." said Chris Lewis, regional vice president, EMEA, Home and Entertainment Division, Microsoft.

"Xbox 360 will deliver mind-blowing experiences across multiple genres, no matter what your personal gaming preferences are. We're excited to be able to confirm this diverse games line-up for day one, but it's only the beginning. Gamers everywhere will be overwhelmed with the pipeline of amazing Xbox 360 games yet to come."

The Xbox 360 will come in two packages. The premium version will sell for £279.99 and will include the console, wireless controllers, 20GB hard drive, headset and membership to Xbox Live.

The core version will sell for £209.99 and includes console and wired controller.

The machine will launch in the US on November 22 and in Japan on December 10.

The Xbox 360 is Microsoft's answer to Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Revolution. Sony said it plans to launch its PlayStation 3 in spring 2006. No release date has been announced for the Revolution.