Go to school, get a free XBox is back!

Microsoft will repeat last year's back-to-school promotion, kicking off the deal Sunday with an offer of a free Xbox 360 game console to eligible U.S. students who buy a new Windows 7 PC.

Canadian students also qualify for this year's program, which launches there today.

U.S. high school or college students with proof of status -- a student ID card or an email address that ends in .edu -- will receive a 4GB Xbox 360 when they purchase a Windows PC for $699 or more. In Canada, the benchmark PC price is $599.

Microsoft will be giving students the $199 Xbox 360, its lowest-priced console, and one that does not come with the Kinect controller.

Depending on when students purchase a Windows PC to get an Xbox, they may be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 8 Pro when the new operating system launches later this year.

Microsoft has not unveiled a Windows 8 upgrade program, but recent rumors have pegged an announcement to the first week of June, when the company also will debut Windows 8 Release Preview, the OS's final public milestone.

Earlier this week, Windows blogger Paul Thurrott, citing unnamed sources, claimed that Microsoft would charge users $14.99 for the upgrade to Windows 8 Pro if they purchased a Windows 7 PC between the launch of the program and January 2013.