PS3 users have been crying out for a fully functional and easy to use web browser for years, but unfortunately Sony hasn’t delivered. The web browser remains pretty shocking and sadly, the browser on the PS Vita isn’t exactly amazing either.

For some reason, Sony has really struggled in this department. Navigating to simple websites on the PS3 such as Facebook remains a chore and it is an area that many users wish Sony spent a bit more time improving.

With that said, their efforts to improve the browser may be forced, as we’re hearing that Microsoft may be planning to finally bring a web browser to the Xbox 360. Not only that, but it could be compatible with the Kinect camera, meaning that Xbox 360 users can navigate through websites using voice and hand gestures only.

According to a Polygon insider, the Xbox 360 browser could end up being a modified version of Internet Explorer 9. Moans and groans aside, if it carries the same look as the Metro style UI dashboard, you can bet that Xbox 360 users will be all over it in a flash and we’re willing to bet that it will offer a better experience than that seen on the PS3 at the moment.

Don’t forget that the Xbox 360 now has Bing Search, so extending that functionality with an web browser is obviously a very logical progression for the system. It also comes on the back of rumors suggesting that the next-generation Xbox may feature a biometrics controller so it is certainly looking good for Xbox 360 owners in the years to come.

Sony on the other hand will need to step it up if Microsoft are indeed planning this step. Navigating through websites using a brightly colored wand isn’t an option, obviously, so perhaps Sony needs to give their web browser an entire UI makeover, adding various menu and website shortcuts to make the experience as simple as possible.

It’s highly unlikely that we’ll see Adobe Flash working on the PS3 to an extent that it matches desktop performance, but Sony could find ways around this – i.e HTML5. At the moment they seem to have given up on their web browser as if to say ‘ there it is, that’s all you’re getting’, but if Microsoft bring out a superior browser you can bet that it will give Sony a wake up call that they badly need.

What is your opinion on the state of the web browser on the PS3? Do you think an Xbox 360 browser would force Sony to improve or do you think they are just holding off for next-gen now?