News.blog: PSPs to get Google search

Sony will soon add a Google Internet search feature as part of a software update for the PlayStation Portable.

On the PSP blog on Monday, Sony said the new upgrade, v4.00, "replicates the Google Internet search experience".

PSP users will need to be connected to the Web via Wi-Fi. The move represents Sony's continued efforts to expand the Internet features of the handheld. Of course, what users really want is an easy way to download movies off the Web.

Nonetheless, the company continues to force users to buy the much rejected Universal Media Discs (UMD), the mini DVDs that Sony built especially for the PSP, or hack the device with video converters.

Sony said the upgrade will also give users the ability to change speeds on playback of video stored on Memory Stick PRO Duo. This allows the viewer to scan quickly through a movie or slow it down.