In the future, it is likely that most, if not all, Sony products will be connected to the Internet and with each other, meaning that users of Sony TV sets will be able to watch Sony movies on demand or play games with others using Sony PlayStation consoles or portable players, and vice versa.

This is the vision of Sony CEO Howard Stringer, who announced last week that Sony is prepared to invest $16.7bn over the next three years on its networking capabilities, as well as product enhancement.

According to Stringer, Sony aims to be the leading provider of networked consumer electronics and entertainment in the world.