"Can't come to work today, I've got Xbox-itis..."

Three-quarters of people who have pre-ordered an Xbox are planning to take the day off sick.

According to amazon.co.uk, a further 20 per cent are still considering the consequences and have not ruled out the idea of bunking off work.

Bill Gates' ambitious foray into the gaming market kicks off in the UK at midnight on Wednesday as stores prepare for an influx of eager customers.

Microsoft sold 1.5 million units between launch and the end of 2001 in the US.

Retailers Electronics Boutique and Game are opening 150 of their 320 shops at midnight tonight to start selling the units.

The Xbox will retail for £299 and will go head-to-head with Sony's PlayStation 2. A PlayStation 2 bundled with a memory card and a game will set you back £259. The third player in the market will be Nintendo, which is launching its Gamecube in early May.

The Xbox has an Intel 733MHz chip, 64MB of memory, an 8GB hard drive and an Ethernet port. The machine can also play DVDs.

Some people describe it as looking like an old skool video console, while the less flattering compare it to an old Betamax video recorder.

The console launches with 20 games.

The challenge for Microsoft will be fighting the huge existing base of original PlayStations as PlayStation 2s can play the old games too.

Although Microsoft has massively increased its in-house games developers it will also have to win over independent developers.