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At a press conference in Japan yesterday, Ken Kutaragi, President of Sony Computer Entertainment, revealed his company's plans to take PlayStation 2 gaming into the broadband era. The service, named PlayStation BB, will be operational from April and will allow PS2 users to access the Internet, download and play mp3 music files, watch videos via RealPlayer, download games and utilise email and instant messaging functions. Furthermore, emulation software will be included,

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allowing users to download and play PSone and PS2 games.

As for cost, NTT Broadband announced that it will charge 1,500 yen (£7.50 per month for Internet services. In order to download and play games, either a one-off charge of 18,000 yen (£95) or 18 monthly instalments of 1,160 (£6) yen. Other Internet service providers are expected to make similar announcements soon.

In addition, Sony revealed an extensive list of titles from third-party developers, expected to take advantage of broadband.

A quick glance at the list, however, reveals that many companies have listed untitled games, and insiders suggest that in some cases they are simply showing support for the service, rather than having anything concrete to announce.

We contacted Sony Europe for information on its broadband plans for this continent, but a spokesperson state: 'This is a Japan-only announcement. Sony will make an announcement regarding broadband in Europe at a later date.' Don't hold your breath, kids. More as it breaks.