With the PS3 launch now complete in North America and Japan, we reckon there are a couple of people out there with the console (there's at least one person in the UK with one, I saw him with it on a flight back from Hong Kong yesterday). And this fortunate few will probably be interested to know that the PlayStation 3 Online service has now officially launched.

The service launches with the PlayStation Store, Sony's answer to the Xbox Live Marketplace, currently offering demo downloads including Resistance: Fall of Man, Motorstorm, NBA 07 and Formula One Championship Edition. You can also grab a couple of full titles online, Cash Guns Chaos and Blast Factor, each costing 7.99 USD.

You can connect to PS3 Online for free, and the service includes messaging, friends lists, profiles, etc. Expect more content to be added online in the coming weeks and months.