Sony have confirmed that the PlayStation 3 will come with a whole list of PC-like applications that will essentially allow you to use your PS3 as a home computer.

The videogame console will come with...

• The Internet browser called FireFox
• The email program called Thunderbird
• A suite of Microsoft office like programmes that will include a fully functional word processor
• A file manager to keep everything on your PS3 organised

All of this is just the beginning. You will be able to download hundreds of new applications from the Internet onto your PS3.... completely free !

This changes everything...

You now might want to consider the bigger hard-drive version of the Playstation3, as it looks like you could be spending an awful lot of time downloading things onto your PS3.

In theory, this will allow you to download music and movies directly to your PS3 from any website on the Internet and then watch/listen to them on your TV.

The Sony PlayStation 3 is now much more than a videogame console and blu-ray disc player... its a home computer too !

not just any home computer... a very very powerful one !

Suddenly the PS3 doesn't seem expensive, in fact, once you add a keyboard and mouse, its the bargain of the year !

I can only guess that the link is IBM ?

IBM, Sony and Toshiba - are the three companies behind the 'Cell' microprocessor that powers the PS3. IBM are huge backers of the Linux operating system (that all of this software uses) and they completely switched to FireFox in-house.

Not sure if they are part funding the Firefox/Thunderbird project too, if they are, then this link all makes sense.