Sony Computer Entertainment has announced that its upcoming new portable gaming system, the PlayStation Vita, will feature dedicated apps for popular social networks Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter, as well as Skype.

The dedicated apps will be freely available from the PlayStation Store. The company elaborated that users would be able to activate the application by selecting the relevant icon, which could found on the Vita’s home screen, and navigate through the application using the 5” touchscreen.

While the announcement pushes the PlayStation Vita closer towards being a multi-functional communication device rather than solely a gaming system, the company explained that its new console is intended towards being a portable entertainment system, that would nonetheless have a “close collaboration with various social networking services and communications.”

Despite the company’s recent announcement that the console would  not be launched to markets outside of Japan this year, the PlayStation Vita appears to be already enjoying notable support ahead of its release date. Joining the existing lineup of dedicated PlayStation Vita titles from the Uncharted and Resistance franchises, Ubisoft has also recently announced that it will be bringing several new titles to the platform. These will include a game from its Asphalt franchise, Rayman: Origins, Dungeon Hunter Alliance, Lumines, Michael Jackson: The Experience and a PlayStation Vita game from its popular Assassin’s Creed series.

Hopefully, the release delay will mean that the Vita will already have an enviable library in place, as well as offering users yet another way to keep in touch with their social media networks. Whether this will be enough to make it a must have gadget, especially in the age of dual-core smartphones and tablets, remains to be seen.