Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has today announced an agreement with Digimask that will let EyeToy owners appear as characters in a number of upcoming PlayStation 2 titles. Using just two photos of the player's face taken with the EyeToy USB camera, Digimask's revolutionary Personal Head Creation technology will create a fully "muscled" 3D model of the player's head. The head can then be saved onto a memory card for use in any games that support the technology.

　　"EyeToy has proved phenomenally successful, with over 2.4 million units sold to date, and it is central to our drive to enable everyone--no matter what their age or gender--to have fun with their PlayStation 2," said Jamie MacDonald, development director at SCEE's London Studios. "The Digimask technology will allow our development teams to explore entirely new avenues of gaming possibility, bringing a whole new dimension to gaming."

　　SCEE already has several games in development that will take advantage of the Digimask technology, and although no titles have been confirmed at this time, the first is expected to arrive in stores in July this year. Possible uses for the Digimask technology, as suggested by SCEE today, include players appearing as the hero of an adventure game, driving a car in the World Rally Championship, starring in their favorite football team, or even fighting a war alongside a squad of their friends.

　　"We are delighted that Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has chosen us as their partner to help bring the ultimate personalization into gaming," said Gary Bracey, founding CEO of Digimask. "There will soon be over 2 million PlayStation 2 users with the capability of using the Digimask technology, and we anticipate that demand for compatible games will be very high. We are now talking to third-party developers/publishers about licensing this for integration into their games. The marriage of EyeToy and Digimask is a perfect combination."

　　We'll bring you more information on PS2 games that take advantage of the Digimask and EyeToy functionality as soon as it becomes available.