WASHINGTON – Microsoft has a strategy to win over a whole new generation of consumers and his name is Fergie Fudgehog.

The software company plans to unveil Fergie and several other children’s animal characters on Wednesday with an entertainment concept called “Viva Pinata” that Microsoft plans to turn into a Saturday morning cartoon show this fall and an Xbox 360 game by the holiday season. In a deal with children’s entertainment and licensing firm 4Kids Entertainment, which licensed Pokemon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the technology giant is reaching out to younger gamers in an effort to promote its latest console, Xbox 360, to the entire family.

It’s an aggressive move on a day when Sony announced that the debut of its next-generation game system, PlayStation 3, will be delayed until November. That system was supposed to come out this spring, and Microsoft planned the launch of its Xbox 360 for last fall specifically to get a jump on rival Sony.

Gaming represents about 10% of Microsoft’s total sales. But this deal could propel Microsoft well beyond gaming and into the children’s entertainment business. If the show and the game succeed, Microsoft and 4Kids already have plans to exploit it throughout the retail universe. Microsoft has applied for nearly a dozen trademark registrations for every conceivable children’s Viva Pinata item, from toy figures and party supplies to shampoo, pajamas, lunch boxes, and bed linens.