Sony is said to be considering the possibility of launching a PSP music store.

According to CNET sources, the company has held preliminary talks with some of the major recording companies with a view to offering PSP owners access to music via the PlayStation Network.

"This makes total sense that Sony would try to get content for the device," Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter told the site. "If Sony is smart, they would manage it the same way iTunes has and be device-agnostic. Whatever you get on a Sony site should play on an iPod as well.

"(Sony) should want that but right now you can't download a Sony PSP game to an iPod Touch because the operating system won't allow it. I know I can get music from iTunes to the PSP...It's just a question, but I wonder if Sony will configure the PSP so it would be incompatible with iTunes. They could come up with their own proprietary format for music so that MP3s won't work."

As it looks for new ways to reposition its handheld Sony is also seemingly considering introducing a download-only game rental service for the PSP.

In early May the company confirmed plans to launch a European video-on-demand music service for PS3 this summer. The free, ad-supported service, dubbed VidZone, will let PS3 users in the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, German, Spain and Australia stream music videos and movies of live concerts, and create a video library and playlists.