Microsoft expects Xbox 360 sales to surpass one million units across Australia and New Zealand by the end of 2009.

Jeremy Hinton, group category manager for Xbox 360 in Australia, said that the console is the “fastest growing” down under, with domestic sales having just hit 700,000 units.

“We [Microsoft] expect to hit a million Xbox 360 consoles sold across Australia and New Zealand by the end of this year. We’re confident we can reach this goal with the console’s current price point and the new experiences we’re bringing through Xbox Live such as Movies On Demand, Facebook and Twitter,” he said, according to GameSpot.

The executive also said that Microsoft was unfazed by Sony’s recent PS3 Slim and price cut announcements.

“It’s only going to help them [Sony]… But it’s a long way until Christmas and I think the Australian consumer will still see the $AU299 price point of Xbox 360 as the more compelling offer… In the past we might have been in third place and we might have been thinking about what Sony’s doing, but now things are different. We’ve had our Christmas plans set for a long time and they won’t change simply because Sony’s plans do.”

Nintendo’s Wii reached one million Australian sales in January after 111 weeks on the market, making it the fastest-selling console to hit the milestone. In May, Sony confirmed that Australian PS3 sales had almost hit 500,000 units, including 70,000 consoles given away as part of a Bravia LCD television promotion.