If you've often set time aside for marathon PlayStation Portable gaming sessions only to have them cut short by your battery giving up the ghost, then Sony's latest announcement will please you. It has unveiled an Extended Life Battery Kit for the handheld console.

Play for longer, thanks to the battery pack

The 2200mAh battery’s compatible with both the original PSP and the new 'Lite' model, but its shape means it’ll stop the redesigned console being so... er... slim and light.

Sony claims it’ll double the console’s battery life, meaning you could get around four hours out of the original model and around ten from the slimmer unit, by which time your hands and fingers will probably have seized up.

Don’t throw away your charger cable just yet though, because the battery pack’s only shipping to the US, so far. It’ll cost around $45 (£23/€35) over there and goes on sale next month.