New Xbox LIVE dashboard rolls out today

An overhaul of the Xbox LIVE dashboard will kick in on October 16th and introduce features like Internet Explorer for Xbox, genre search, the extension of voice search for the YouTube app, and more.

The new dashboard has been in public beta since July. Along with a cosmetic change that draws from the Windows 8 interface, the update also boasts the following features:

Internet Explorer for Xbox. We will bring the web browser to your TV with navigation supported by Kinect voice, Xbox SmartGlass and the Xbox 360 controller. We have also added autocomplete functionality to the address bar, making it easier than ever to get to the websites you love.

Genre search will be an added option for voice search so you'll be able to search by genres such as comedy, drama, action, etc. to quickly find movies and TV shows across your entertainment apps.

Web video results. Bing voice search will be extended to include content in the YouTube app, which will be displayed as web video results.

Web results. Bing voice search will also enable searches across the web, which will return both web videos and Internet Explorer web pages."

"My Pins" will allow you to bookmark pin your favorite content to one queue that's easily accessible from the Xbox dashboard, including movies, TV shows, games, websites and apps.

Recommendations for movie, games and TV shows tailored to you will now surface effortlessly, allowing you to discover new content. Recommendations are generated based on the content you previously viewed, accessed or rated. If you have no history, then recommendations will be generated based on what's most popular amongst the Xbox LIVE community.

Ratings will be added to allow you to give content a rating of one to five stars. Ratings are also based on Rotten Tomatoes and metacritic, and are used to enhance future recommendations.

"TV & Movies" will be combined in one channel on the dashboard to make searching easier.

Sports hub will be added to the home channel of the dashboard (in the US) to make accessing your favorite sports and all new content from the NBA and ESPN even easier.

Performance Improvements. As a part of our continued investment to improve the performance of the Xbox dashboard, we've made your overall experience quicker and more seamless.

The new dashboard is expected to roll out on October 16th and coincides with the launch of Xbox Music.