PS3 is a litmus test for Sir Howard's turnaround effort, one of the aims of which is to get Sony's various divisions to co-operate more fully. (A spat between its electronics and content units left the field open for Apple's iPod.) The company insists that despite recent problems such as the battery recall, the turnaround is going well behind the scenes.

ECONOMIST: Can the PlayStation 3 revive the ailing electronics giant?

Set in the remote, post-apocalyptic desert landscape that is Landers, California, the 38-foot high white dome was built in the 1950s as a research facility by George Van Tassel, a test pilot and aeronautical engineer for Howard Hughes.

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Late Wednesday, his lawyer, Howard Jacobs, acknowledged he'd received a written statement that the carbon isotope test showed the presence of synthetic testosterone.

NPR: Landis Facing Uphill Battle on Doping Charges