SCE UK boss Ray Maguire has for the first time admitted that Sony is working on a new version of its PSP handheld.

Maguire yesterday told press at a PSP in Education gathering that the current PSP is just the ‘first iteration’ of the hardware. In line with the hardware strategy it followed for PS2 and PSOne, the PSP redesign is expected to be smaller, lighter – and if rumour is to be believed, boast 8GB of internal memory.

Whilst a PSP redesign has been rumoured for months, this is the first time a senior Sony figure has openly discussed the subject.

Following the announcement, however, a Sony spokesperson told GamesIndustry that: "In the longest term, of course we are always looking at ways to continue our platform development, and this normal business practice is what Ray was referring to."