Nintendo prays for gaming Revolution

Nintendo said today that it will make the forthcoming version of its console, codenamed Revolution, the smallest gaming device in its history.

The company revealed several specifications on the eve of the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, at which Sony unveiled its upcoming Playstation 3.

Nintendo's new console, scheduled for next year, will support wireless networks and online gaming. Similar to Microsoft's Xbox 360, the device uses an IBM Power PC processor.

It will support Nintendo's current Gamecube 8cm discs as well as CD-sized 12cm discs that will be standard for the new device.

According to Nintendo, the Revolution will be as high as three DVD cases and slightly longer. The company is expected to release additional specifications later this week.

The Revolution's design breaks with that of the Xbox and the Playstation, both of which are designed to be similar in size to existing consumer electronics devices such as DVD players.

Nintendo was once the dominant maker of gaming consoles, but has lost its lead to Microsoft and Sony.

The company is still the largest maker of portable gaming devices with its Gameboy DS, but Sony has entered the market with the Playstation Portable that outsold the latest Nintendo device in its first week in the US.