Sony released today a new update for its gaming platform, PlayStation 3. Dubbed 2.40, the new update includes a lot of features like XMB (XrossMediaBar) access in-game and Trophies. In short, Sony’s goal is to facilitate the interaction between the users.

For example, XMB access in-game will enable gamers to interact with friends using messaging, view their friends’ online status and profiles (including their Trophy collection), and add new friends they meet online to their Friends list.

All these actions can be performed without interrupting the flow of gameplay. By pushing the PS button on the PS3 controller, the Home menu takes center stage over a game in progress.

Depending on the game, XMB access will either automatically pause the game or it will continue to run in the background. Also, know the Friends list capacity has doubled to 100 names.

Also, XMB access in-game will allow users to sign-in to PlayStation Network and manage Playstation Store downloads.

The 2.40 update also offer to the gamers the option to customize their individual gaming experience by accessing the XMB during a game and selecting music stored on their PS3 system’s hard drive.

Sony also hinted that a future update might offer XMB access during movie playback. Similar to the recent upgrade for PSP, the PS3 2.40 firmware integrates Google-powered Internet search functionality on the XMB, allowing users to input search terms and be directed to a search results page without having to first open the browser.

But maybe the most important feature offered by the 2.40 firmware is the Trophy system. The Trophies are somewhat similar to the ones used by Microsoft’s Xbox 360, but the main difference is that PS3’s version uses Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum designations, instead of plain numbers like Xbox 360. The main idea is that the more goals you reach in a game, the better the trophy you get.

The gamers will be ranked on a Level basis depending on the bronze, silver, gold, and platinum trophies they earn across all games. They will also be able to see how much progress they have made toward the next Level, as well as compare their Trophies to friends.

In a post on its PlayStation blog, Sony explained that there’s not a limit on number of trophies, but there’s a value assigned to each trophy.

That is why developers must balance out the trophies that are available to stay within an overall value based on whether the game is considered large-scope or small-scope. Essentially, a user that has unlocked every trophy in one game would have the same level as a user that unlocked every trophy in another title, all titles (depending on scope) have the same overall impact on a users’ level.