BBC Top Gear goes virtual on PS3

291w ago - Gamers will be able to download episodes of BBC Two show Top Gear inside video game Gran Turismo 5.

Forty episodes of the popular motoring show will be available on a dedicated Gran Turismo TV channel accessed via the PlayStation 3's online network.

Gran Turismo is the world's most popular racing video game series, with more than 47 million copies sold.

The test track used by Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond will be recreated inside GT5.

Virtual drivers will be able to race the hundreds of cars licensed inside the game around the track featured in the show.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is due for release in 2008. GT TV will also feature news and features about the motoring world.

"We're sure that players will be as thrilled as we are when they get the chance to put their own driving skills to the test on the Top Gear Test Track in GT5, as well as enjoying classic episodes of Top Gear via GT TV," said Kazunori Yamauchi, president of the game's developers Polyphony Digital, in a statement.

Simon Danker, director of digital media at BBC Worldwide said: "We're thrilled to make Top Gear accessible to Gran Turismo gamers."