Spoilsport Sony Computer Entertainment is to plug the grey market hole that enables its Japanese-market PlayStation 2 to play US DVDs.

Gaming wizards last week discovered a way of playing Region 1 DVDs on the Region 2 console by entering codes in the machine.

Today it seems Sony has already made plans to stop this activity. According to British retailer Computer Exchange, the manufacturer is to produce an updated version of the DVD driver - the 1.01 ?which will only play Region 2 and Region Free DVDs.

The updated versions will go out on a new utility disc in PlayStation 2's next shipment to Japanese shopkeepers. However, gamers will still be able to get around Sony's rules -- if they have a friend with a first-batch driver.

Hang onto that existing driver version ?this will be valuable as it will also work in the forthcoming consoles. And Sony hasn't yet made any announcements regarding hardware changes to PlayStation 2.?