Sony launches PlayStation virtual community

Sony Corp.'s much delayed virtual community for owners of its PlayStation 3 game console will start worldwide Thursday, but it's unlikely to attract many newcomers to the machine, company officials said.

The free-of-charge PlayStation Home service is mainly meant to make gaming more fun for people who already own the PS3, they said.

Owners download Home software and connect their PS3 to broadband to create three-dimensional digital images that represent themselves called "avatars," and communicate with the avatars of other PS3 owners.

The figures wander around virtual lawns, bowling alleys, arcades and homes in the PS3, but the central activity is playing games and becoming friends with other PlayStation 3 game fans, according to Sony (nyse: SNE - news - people ).

Junji "JB" Shoda, a Sony Computer Entertainment Japan vice president, who oversees Home, said Wednesday the service isn't meant to rival virtual worlds like Linden Lab's "Second Life," which can be played on personal computers and has drawn millions of people.

Sony had the idea for Home before such virtual worlds or "metaverse" in cyberspace became popular, he said.

"This is a community for gamers," Shoda told reporters at a Sony Computer Entertainment office in Tokyo. "It's meant to enrich the interactive experience for gamers."