Thousands of keen gamers queued outside stores to get their hands on Microsoft's Xbox 360 games console as it went on sale in Europe at midnight.

Major electronics and games shops across Europe opened up at midnight for those who had queued during the day.

But gamers are likely to face a hard time getting their hands on one of the consoles as many retailers have already sold out of the new machine.

According to reports, only 300,000 consoles have arrived in Europe for Friday's launch.

Demand for the console is likely to well exceed this figure, meaning many will have to wait until January or February to purchase an Xbox 360.

Online retailer Amazon.co.uk said it would restrict the number of Xbox 360s its customer could buy to ensure that as many people as possible could get hold of one in time for Christmas.

Along with Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP) and Apple's video iPod, the Xbox 360 is likely to be a popular Christmas gift.

In the US, Microsoft is estimated to have sold around 350,000 Xbox 360s since the console was launched on November 22.

However, a number of US gamers have already started to complain about several problems with their new machine, including over heating and disk scratching.

Microsoft said it expects to sell ten million units of the new console worldwide within fourteen months of the launch.

In addition to playing games, the Xbox 360 can also be used to watch DVDs, view photos and listen to music.

The 360 comes in two packages. The premium version sells for £279 and will include the console, wireless controllers, 20GB hard drive, headset and membership to Xbox Live.

The core version will sell for £209 and includes console and wired controller.

Some 15 games are available for the European launch, including Microsoft's Project Gotham Racing 3, Activision's Tony Hawk's American Wasteland and Condemned: Criminal Origins by Sega.

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 Xbox 360 is Microsoft's answer to Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Revolution.

The PlayStation 3, which was announced last May, is expected to be in US and European shops early next year.

Details of Nintendo's Revolution will most likely be unveiled next May. The Revolution is expected to go on sale at the end of next year.

Sony has dominated the games console market for many years with the success of its PlayStation 1 (PS1) and PlayStation 2 (PS2).

The Japanese firm has sold more than 90 million PS2s and over 100 million PS1s.

These figures are outstanding when you consider that Microsoft has only sold 20 million units of the original Xbox.

However, with the early release of the 360, Microsoft will hope to take advantage of the lucrative Christmas period as it looks to end Sony's worldwide dominance of the games console market.