Gone are the days of the console being 'just' a games machine. These days, your average console gives you access to everything from the net to the latest movie trailers, not to mention your own virtual world. Indeed, Sony is so pleased with its PlayStation Network for the PS3, that it wants to extend it to other devices.

In an interview with Nikkei, Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer said: 'We will be expanding the PlayStation Network to hardware other than the PS3' because limiting the Network to PS3 consoles 'puts a limit on the scale of the network possible.' It's hardly surprising. After all, as he rightly points out, the more people use the network, the more money is made by both Sony and its partners. More users could also tempt more companies to sign up with Sony too - video rental company Netflix is just one that's rumoured to be considering the Sony platform.

How and when this expansion takes place isn't yet clear, with the company's CEO suggesting that Sony's 'vertical structure for each product line' doesn't make expansion easy. But with rumours of a download-friendly PSP2 in the pipeline, that could be the opportunity Sony needs to get the ball rolling.