Virgin Megastores will host Sony's official launch of the PlayStation 3 on March 23rd.

The event will take place at Virgin’s flagship Oxford Street store and include official merchandise giveaways and incentives for the first customers to collect their consoles.

Online rumours surfaced in January that Sony had inked a deal with HMV, which hosted the official Wii launch last year.

But Virgin confirmed this afternoon that it had secured exclusive rights to the prestigious event.

"The PS3 is without a doubt one of the most anticipated console launches ever so it is very exciting to be able to offer our customers the complete Sony experience at launch," said Senior Promotions and PR Manager at Virgin Megastores, Stephen Lynn.

"We can't go into too much detail in terms of what we have planned, as we are currently in a period of consultation with the authorities. Needless to say though, the experience and safety of our customers will come first and it will be an amazing launch."

"Virgin Megastores is the perfect partner for the launch of PS3," added managing director of SCE UK Ray Maguire. "We are well aware how patient and loyal our customers have been waiting for PS3 to arrive and fully intend to reward them with the launch they deserve. Plans are already well underway and we are working with local authorities to ensure we delivery the best console launch ever."