Sony to launch world's first Blu-ray notebook PC

TOKYO, May 16 (Reuters) Sony Corp. said on Tuesday it would launch the world's first notebook personal computer equipped with a next-generation Blu-ray optical disk drive in Japan in June.

The Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate said earlier this year it would launch notebook and desktop personal computers with Blu-ray drives in early summer in the United States.

Sony's Blu-ray technology competes with the HD DVD format, which is supported by another Japanese electronics maker, Toshiba Corp.

At the core of both formats are blue lasers, which have a shorter wavelength than the red lasers used in current DVD equipment, enabling discs to store data at the higher densities needed for high-definition movies and TV.

Toshiba launched notebook computers with an HD DVD drive last week in Japan and will start U.S. sales this week.

Sony said it expected the notebook PC to retail for about 400,000 yen (