Downloadable movies coming to the PSP

TOKYO--While Sony's PlayStation Portable might not be getting any UMD movies for a while, one film distributor in Japan will begin offering downloadable flicks for the handheld gaming and multimedia machine starting Friday.

Starting December 24, Japanese Web site PDA Cinema Contents will begin distributing four movies in the MPEG-4 format that's compliant with PSP specifications. PSP owners will be able to purchase the movies, then download them to the handheld's Memory Stick Duo and watch them on the fly.

Each movie costs between 294 yen ($2.82) to 399 yen ($3.82). Because the movies can be purchased with a credit card, it should be possible for PSP owners overseas to purchase and watch the movies (although some fluency of Japanese will be needed since the movies don't come with subtitles).

The four movies available from PDA Cinema Contents starting December 24 are: Lapis Lazuli, Hidari-mimi no Yousei (The Fairy in the Left Ear), Kanmai no Shima (God's Dance Island), and chocolate@fish.