For purposes of discussion and not to bring China down, it is very hard to deny that the country is a haven for media pirates. They have everything reproduced there, from music CDs, to movies, and even videogames. Now, you could only imagine our amazement when we came across a fellow blog site, Shanghaiist. Obviously, these guys are based there and sadly, they are promoting the practice. One of their article reads,

Our buying decision this holiday season has every bit to do with the PSP. Being a nifty gadget, it does some of the extra resources available to us as residents of Shanghai, or China for that matter: rampant piracy of games. The PSP is no different. Machines for sale here are from either Europe or Japan, but with firmware downgraded/modified so that they can handle backup games.

Pardon the translation but don't pardon the message. We mean, come on. As it is, there have been various reports that the PSP is dying because of various reasons. Regardless if these are true, the point is there's a serious threat to the community. And to publicly encourage stealing wouldn't help one bit.

On a more personal note, the homebrew scene is definitely not piracy. These are hardworking independent people trying to come up with original games and certain modifications. We think that openly telling people to pirate is going over board.

All eyes may be on Jenson Button at this year's British Grand Prix, but that could change as Sony Computer Entertainment presented Keeley Hazell as the new female face of Formula One 2006 for PS2 and PSP. Keeley is set to boost adrenaline levels as she injects some fun and glamour at the Grand Prix.

Keeley Hazell has this to say: I'm very excited about this new experience. The British Grand Prix is my first opportunity to see Formula One cars in action and I can't wait. Fast cars and boys - what more could a girl want...

Formula One 2006 features all of the season's drivers and cars sporting their official sponsors' livery. F1 fans will experience the thrills of non-stop driving action from 18 circuits around the world including Sakhir in Bahrain, Monte Carlo, Silverstone, Shanghai and Interlagos. It will zoom to retail shops in July.