After revealing details behind its premium PlayStation Plus online subscription service for the PlayStation 3 at E3 recently, Sony has released a firmware update for the console which will give users access to the package.

As we reported last week, PlayStation Plus will provide subscribers with a number of premium add ons including a freely downloadable games and discounts. For this privilege local PlayStation 3 owners will be required to pay R489 for an annual subscription and R145 for three months.

Members will also be able to set their PS3 to wake up from standby at any time of the day or night, download and install any game updates for the games they have been playing. System software updates will also download automatically and then the PS3 will turn itself off again.

In addition to PlayStation Plus availability the firmware update also brings a number of other benefits to the console including a five star rating for content purchased on the Store, a video editor and uploader for Facebook and Youtube and further integration into Facebook and Picasa image galleries.