Sony is planning a worldwide launch of its next-generation PlayStation 3 gaming console on 17 November, the company said at the E3 gaming tradeshow in Los Angeles. 

The device will be priced at $499 for a basic model featuring a 20GB hard drive, and $599 for a 60GB version.

European users should expect to pay about $636 for the basic model, which amounts to a 27 per cent premium.

Sony promised to have two million PlayStation 3 systems available at launch, and aims to sell six million units by 31 March 2007.

The launch date puts the gaming console in stores 51 weeks after Microsoft's launch of its Xbox 360. Analyst estimates put sales of the Xbox 360 at about 1.3 million by the end of 2005. 

The Microsoft device was significantly cheaper than the PlayStation 3, with the most desirable Xbox 360 premium sets costing $399.

Sony, however, claims that the PlayStation 3 will outperform the Xbox 360 by using a Cell processor featuring six processing cores.

The units will also feature 256Mb of Ram and 256Mb of video memory. They come with integrated Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Ethernet, as well as a Blu-ray high definition DVD player.

Sony is currently the largest supplier of gaming consoles. Sales of the PlayStation 2 have exceeded 100 million units since its introduction in 2000.