Valve Expands Steam's Gift Feature

If you want to send a fellow gamer friend a Christmas present, Valve is now offering a fairly straightforward digital means of doing so.

Valve has announced that its online game distribution network, Steam, now boasts a feature allowing users to "gift" games to one another.

Following an extensive update several months ago that introduced community-oriented features, such as a built-in friends list, this latest move enables customers to purchase a video game from Steam and then send it as a gift to anyone in the world with an internet connection.

The concept was first introduced on a limited scale with the release of the Orange Box. Purchasers were permitted to transfer Half Life 2 and Episode One to other Steam users who might not have played the title.