Video game companies have taken their fierce battle for customers into the realms of the third dimension, with Microsoft challenging Sony head-on by upgrading its Xbox 360 console to support 3D games.

The US technology giant revealed yesterday that it had signed a strategic partnership with the electronics company LG, as it prepares to bring 3D gaming to the Xbox 360. Gamers in the UK will have to control their excitement for now, as plans seem to be limited to the Asian market at the moment. Yet experts believe the rise of 3D in other formats makes the format’s expansion more likely. The move follows recent announcements by Sony, which has upgraded its PlayStation 3 console to support 3D, and Nintendo, which is planning to release a 3D version of its popular DS  and Wii Consoles.

Microsoft has been concentrating heavily on taking the fight to Nintendo’s extraordinarily successful Wii console, whose motion-sensor-based games have encouraged a whole new group of players into the market. This culminates in the launch of Project Natal at the E3 expo next month. Yet the group clearly believes it needs to offer an alternative to Sony, and yesterday news from South Korea emerged that the Xbox 360 will support 3D games.