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As spotted by Siliconera, the trademark is for "a feature of interactive video game software which allows players to obtain statistical information of internal and external features of a vehicle and to virtually navigate and operate those vehicles."

The most recent entry in the racing series, October 2012's Forza Horizon, was principally developed by Playground Games, rather than series creator Turn 10 Studios, whose last game was 2011's Forza Motorsport 4.

The timing of the trademark filing would appear to back up a report last month which suggested Microsoft's software launch line-up for the next generation Xbox will include a new Forza game boasting "super life-like" graphics.

Microsoft is set to reveal its
next Xbox this Tuesday, May 21 at a special event at its Redmond campus.

The live stream of Microsoft's event will be viewable on CVG's ongoing Xbox Event Live Blog.

CVG will also be in attendance at the event, while its UK and US teams will be on hand for in-depth, up-to-the-minute coverage.

The event video for the next Xbox, known commonly as the Xbox 720, begins at 10am Pacific time Tuesday (6pm in the UK).

Xbox 720: Everything we know so far