Sony is delaying the start of Home, its virtual world for the PlayStation 3 video game machine, until the latter half of this year — the second time the online interactive service has been postponed.

Home is a real-time interactive online world much like Linden Lab's Second Life and other "metaverses." The virtual world uses computer graphics to render new worlds on computer screens in which people, represented by avatars, can walk around and interact.

The product had been initially promised for last year, but in September Sony delayed its debut until early this year to spend more time to create a better product.

On Tuesday, Tokyo-based Sony Computer Entertainment said Home would again be delayed until the autumn. However, a test service is set to start this summer, it said.

"The wait has been prolonged for PS3 users, but we plan satisfying entertainment by spending more time on development to improve the service," SCE Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai said in a statement.

Millions of people use Second Life to move avatars — or computer-generated images of themselves — through a virtual universe. Several major companies have set up shop in Second Life, which analysts see as holding new potential as a communications tool for real-life business.

Sony officials have issued demonstration videos of Home with much fanfare, promising new kinds of businesses, such as advertising and electronic shopping, as well as games.

This is not the first delay to be experienced with the PlayStation 3. The machine went on sale in the U.S. and Japan in late 2006, but its European launch was postponed for several months due to production problems.

Sony once dominated the gaming industry with the PlayStation2 but now faces intense competition from Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 and Nintendo Co.'s popular Wii.