Microsoft and Netflix say they’ve reached a deal that would make it possible to stream movies over the Internet to your TV, provided your set is equipped with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system.

The announcement came at the E3 Media and Business Summit in Los Angeles. The service is set to launch in late fall.

The companies said the the game and entertainment system will be the only one that lets users instantly watch movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix. The movie-watching feature will be available to Xbox Live Gold members who are also Netflix subscribers, at no additional cost.

The service is set to begin with access to more than 10,000 movies and TV episodes in the Netflix library. Here’s more from the Microsoft press release.

UPDATE: Don Reisinger, in his “The Digital Home” column, says the Microsoft-Netflix deal confirms for him “Why it’s time for Blockbuster to give up.” Not all his readers’ comments agree, though.