While the PlayStation 3 has gone through an impressive metamorphosis since release, the social aspects of the system still leave much to be desired: there is no good way to communicate to people on your friends list across different games, and inviting people to join you while playing online can be a pain. There is also nothing that comes close to the 360's innovative "achievements" system to get people to try new ways of playing, or simply enjoy the bragging rights of having the highest gamerscore. That changes on July 2, however, when Sony launches the firmware 2.40 update that adds in-game XMB support and trophies to the system. The importance of these two updates is hard to underestimate.

The XMB, or Xcross Media Bar, is the menu system on the PlayStation 3 that allows you to choose what game to play, watch a video, or send a message to people on your friend list. These options are now only available on the home screen of the system, but this update allows you to access all these features from inside any game you're playing. If you are setting up a round of Call of Duty 4, you'll be able to bring up the media bar, fire off a message to a friend to join you, and then go back into the game seamlessly.

While the ability to interact with friends, as well as browse their profiles, is welcome, the in-game XMB support will also allow you to access the music stored on your hard drive, with developers now given the option of adding in-game custom music to their titles. The XMB will also offer Google-powered Internet search from within games, so if you get into an online argument about how often your in-game firearm would have jammed in real life, the answer is a few clicks away.

The Trophies will work much like the 360's achievements, and these will be shown inside your new profile. Trophies will come in bronze, silver, and gold depending on the difficulty of the task needing to be accomplished, and you'll be ranked against other players based on how many of each type you have unlocked. The social aspect is stressed here, as you can compare your Trophies with friends, and you will be given a level based on the number of Trophies in your collection. You'll be able to track how many points you need before you unlock the next level, as well as your overall ranking as compared to other players online.

Super Stardust HD will be the first game to include Trophies, although any game can have Trophies patched in. While Sony confirmed that big-name titles like LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2, and MotorStorm Pacific Rift will include Trophies, it won't be surprising to see more games than not support this feature. The Trophies are also expected to be integrated in Sony's upcoming online service Home as "physical" objects to be displayed inside your virtual dwelling. This is a big improvement from the rather static and useless Gamerscore on the 360, which is a simple number that doesn't really give you much information beyond the score itself. The US PlayStation blog has a video walking you through the Trophy system, and the interface is slick and easy to understand.

"Today's PlayStation 3 experience has evolved significantly from what we debuted at launch, and the 2.40 firmware update will drive the PS3 community experience forward at a time when the platform's momentum is stronger than ever, with the launches of several recent blockbuster titles and other exclusive content on the way," said Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing and PlayStation Network, SCEA. He's right: the system has already come a long way and this update will do even more to put the system on even footing with—or even surpass—the Xbox 360 in social networking features.

While we're looking forward to getting a hands-on look with these new features on July 2, this new firmware update should add two huge features to the PlayStation 3. This is a big step forward, and a strong addition to the already impressive PlayStation 3 software.