The Air Force Research Laboratory is conducting a technology assessment of certain cell processors," reads the request for proposal. "The processors in the Sony PlayStation 3 are the only brand on the market that utilizes the specific cell processor characteristics needed for this program at an acceptable cost."

As customary, the US. military will pay a premium (with our tax money, mind you) to a government contractor who can round up product, ensure it, and bid it on a fixed price basis. No, no -- directly purchasing 300 units at $399 wouldn't work,  Or would it?

Regardless, specifics on what the consoles would be used for were not disclosed, but this isn't the first time the PS3 is being used for non-gaming tasks. Participating system owners can already have their PS3 crunch cancer research numbers when idle. And of course, there's always Blu-ray movies to watch.

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