A man was shot in Putnam, Connecticut today by a pair of ski-mask wearing gunmen attempting to steal money from a queue of punters waiting in line to buy PlayStation 3 consoles, local police have revealed.

According to Lieutenant J Paul Vance, cited by the Associated Press, the would-be thieves threatened 15-20 people standing outside a Wal-Mart store at 3am local time. One man resisted and was subsequently shot. He was taken to hospital, but his condition is not known.

The gunmen - both believed to be teenagers, Vance said - fled the scene empty handed.

Sony's PS3 went on sale in the US at midnight. Since then there have been numerous reports of unruly behaviour among queuing Americans, and even several allegations that muggers stole recently acquired consoles.

AP also reports that four people standing outside a BestBuy in Lexington, Kentucky were injured by pellets fired by someone in car as they drove past. ®