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PS3 is built around a 3.2GHz Cell processor - jointly developed by IBM, Sony and Toshiba, with a total system performance rated at 2.18 teraflops - with 256MB of 3.2GHz RAM. It has a graphics processor(RSX) co-developed by Nvidia and Sony backed by 256MB GDDR VRAM.

The enhanced processing and graphics power should enable a new level of gaming realism, with landscapes and virtual worlds rendered in real time.

As well as DVDR/W and CD-R/RW it supports the Blu-ray high-definition storage standard, with discs capable of holding up to 54GB. Blu-ray also provides high-levels of copy protection.

There will be also

Ken Kutaragi, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEI), said that PS3 'will accelerate the arrival of a new era in computer entertainment'.

'SCEI has continuously brought innovation to the world of computer entertainment, such as real-time 3D computer graphics on PlayStation and the world's first 128-bit processor Emotion Engine (EE) for PlayStation 2. Empowered by the Cell processor with super computer like performance, a new age of PlayStation 3 is about to begin.'

His comments were echoed by games developers.

'Each generation of PlayStation has made a dramatic improvement in how we create and play video games,' said Larry Probst, Chairman and CEO, Electronic Arts. 'PlayStation 3 will be a breakthrough in how the world experiences entertainment.'

'Each time SCEI launches a console, the video games business moves to the next level. With PlayStation 3 it looks as if it might be time for interactive entertainment to become, finally, the world's dominant artistic medium,' Sam Houser, president of Rockstar Games added.