Sony's next-generation PlayStation 3 console has been recognised by Guinness World Records as being part of the world's most powerful distributed computing network.

The accomplishment was possible thanks to Stanford University's Folding@home project.

The record was set on 16 September as Folding@home surpassed one petaflop, a computing milestone that had not been reached before by a distributed computing network.

More than 670,000 unique PS3 users are currently registered to the Folding@home network, bringing the overall computing power of the programme to more than a petaflop.

The PS3's Cell Broadband Engine allows scientists to make greater progress in the study of protein folding and its link to diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and certain forms of cancer.

"To have Folding@home recognised by Guinness World Records is a reflection of the extraordinary participation by gamers and consumers around the world, and for that we are very grateful," said Vijay Pande, associate professor of chemistry at Stanford and Folding@home project lead.

"Without them we would not be able to make the advances we have made in our studies of several different diseases.

"But it is clear that none of this would be even remotely possible without the power of PS3 which has increased our research capabilities by leaps and bounds."

Until recently, the Folding@home programme used only the distributed computing power of personal computers from around the world.

The PCs that made up the Folding@home network numbered roughly 200,000 giving the programme the equivalent of about one-quarter of a petaflop.

PS3 joined the initiative on 15 March 2007 since when more than 670,000 unique PS3 users have registered to the Folding@home network, bringing the overall computing power of the programme to more than a petaflop.