An anonymous hacker has succeeded in running Linux on an unmodified Xbox, apparently satisfying a $100,000 challenge funded by Lindows founder Michael Robertson.

A hacker using the name Habibi-Xbox revealed the exploit Saturday in a message posted on the Xbox Hacker Web site. Organizers of the Xbox-Linux Project confirmed the method works.

The trick involves the "save/load game" function in the James Bond game "007: Agent Under Fire," which normally allows players to save a file recording their progress in the game to the Xbox's hard drive and later reload it. Habibi found that by using one of several USB storage devices recognized by the Xbox, the "load game" screen can also be used to load other software, including compact versions of the Linux operating system.

The technique apparently exploits a "buffer overflow" flaw in the 007 game, a technique similar to that used by online vandals to damage servers. "Basically, there is a bug in the save handling, which has been found in several games," Habibi wrote in the posting.

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