Sony has struck a new deal to introduce in-game advertising into Playstation 3 games.

The computing giant has agreed that IGA Worldwide will be its official partner in selling and delivering the advertising space in future releases.

Recent research from analysts Nielsen Media Research estimates that the in-game advertising industry would be worth $1 billion by 2010.

Justin Townsend, chief executive of IGA Worldwide, said that Sony's Playstation 3 platform presented a prime opportunity to expand the industry.

Sony has announced it will provide Playstation 3 fans with a first-look at three of its big releases at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

The company is one of the main sponsors of the event and will premiere games SingStar, Little Big Planet and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.

Sony claim fans will be able to experience the ultimate in gaming, with two fully-interactive entertainment tents demonstrating "the power of the PS3 in high-definition".

Sony has announced the new update for the Playstation 3 will enable users to run interactive features on Blu-ray movies.

Blue-ray disc profile 2.0, known as BD-live, will provide the "ultimate interactive film experience" according to the company.

The software will be released in late March and Sony has also told PS3 owners to expect downloadable video content, interactive movie-based games and "more".

Reports suggest that Sony could be about to release a ceramic white version of its PlayStation 3 system in the US.

Several websites have picked up on the fact that Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) submitted a filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which seems to indicate that the white unit could be poised for release.

Currently, the white version of the PlayStation 3 is only available in Japan, where it was released in November 2007.

A security expert has suggested that Sony's PlayStation 3 could be used by cybercriminals to crack complex passwords.

Security researcher Nick Breese claimed that he has used the gaming console at speeds around 100-times greater than are currently achievable with Intel-based hardware.

According to a report in Next, Breese believes that a network of PlayStation 3s could be perfect for 'brute force' hacking - where all the possible password combinations are tested.

The PS3s could crack an eight-character password in a few days, whereas other computers might take weeks.

The research company NPD Group released data for U.S. sales of gaming consoles: 335,000 Wiis, 228,000 Xbox 360s, and 127,000 PlayStation 3s. The Wii continues to outsell all other consoles in the short term but has a ways to go to catch up to Microsoft in terms of total sales. Latest cumulative figures for U.S. sales for the big three: 5.1 million Xbox 360s, 1.9 million Nintendo Wiis, and 1.1 million PlayStation 3s.