PlayStation Portable owners will have direct access to the online PlayStation Store from next week, Sony has confirmed.

Sadly, though, Sony has initially chosen to limit access to gamers from its home turf – Japan – and hasn’t yet announced a timescale for rolling the same level of access out to North America and European PSP fans.

Until now, PSP users have been forced use the PS3, a PC, USB cables and Memory Stick Duo cards to get PlayStation Store content onto their handheld consoles. But the new agreement will, hopefully, see US and UK gamers gain direct access to the store over the PSP's own Wi-Fi link.

According to Sony, the PlayStation Store is a “gateway to a world of entertainment for your PSP” where you can download everything from extra game levels and wallpapers to music and video.