Sony has announced that the first 500,000 people to register their PlayStation 3 on the PlayStation Network after the console's European launch will receive a free copy of James Bond film Casino Royale on

Sony's Darren Carter, VP of brand and consumer marketing, described it as a "phenomenal incentive" for consumers to sign up to the console's online service, which allows for free online gaming as well as downloadable content through the PS3 Store.

"Casino Royale not only makes the most of the features and capabilities of the Blu-ray format, but is one of the most exciting and entertaining movies to debut on Blu-ray this year," Carter added.

The film will play back in 1080p resolution, having been encoded with the MPEG-4 AVC codec and stored on a 50GB, dual-layer Blu-ray disc, offering consumers a chance to sample one of the console's unique selling points - its high definition Blu-ray movie playback.

The platform holder implemented a similar scheme for the North American PS3 launch, offering Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby on Blu-ray with the first 400,000 units sold.

PlayStation 3 launches in Europe on 23rd March.