Well, a few minutes ago, the Flash countdown at origenxbox360.com reached zero (at least on my screen). Nothing else seems to have happened. There's been no change in the page's source code, no new clickable items have appeared, no other flash files have loaded. Looks like a dud, or else whatever is happening doesn't work on a Mac.

UPDATE: It looks like other countdowns before it, this one uses the computer's local time, so overseas users are not seeing it properly. Some users report seeing three hours left, others twelve or more. My understanding is that the countdown was supposed to end at 12 midnight on September 27, in approximately one hour. So we'll check back then.

UPDATE: Well, by my clock it's past 1:30 AM on the West Coast of the United States now, and there's still been no change on the Origen site. Anyone else see something different?

UPDATE: The Origen site has changed. Now the tree, the fruit, and the rabbits are gone, replaced with a single rabbit running in a wheel and what looks like a meter of some sort, filled with green leaves. It appears as if this is some sort of loading screen. At the moment, on my screen it's about two-thirds full.

UPDATE: Eventually, a link to Xbox360.com appears. Then, the tree reappears, with flags representing many different languages. Clicking one produces the bunny rabbit wheel loading progress screen again. Microsoft is certainly counting on people having broadband for this.

UPDATE: When the new site finally loads, one feature it offers is a little Xbox 360 mini quiz; answering correctly gives you a chance to enter a drawing to win one of two "trips to Origen". As for what Origen actually is, it would appear to be a Microsoft PR event somehow related to the Xbox 360's launch, but other than some vaguely tropical rhythms and settings and a disturbing person in a bunny suit, the site doesn't offer many clues.

UPDATE: Other sites have since confirmed the Europe-only nature of the current contest.