Sony' Playstation 3 has earned a place in The Guinness Book Of Records thanks to Folding@Home, the distributed computing project designed to perform computationally intensive simulations of protein folding and other molecular dynamics.

In simple terms: Users sign up to the Folding@Home programme, keep their PS3s switched on idle when they're not using them,and the combined power of all the PS3s left in idle helps scientists research protein folding and diseases related to it, such as Alzheimers.

Folding@Home recently broke the Petaflop barrier for data being sourced from consumersand a result has won the accolade of the “most powerful distributed computing network in the world”

“To have Folding@home recognized by Guinness World Records as the most powerful distributed computing network ever is a reflection of the extraordinary worldwide participation by gamers and consumers around the world and for that we are very grateful,” said Vijay Pande, associate professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and Folding@home project lead. “Without them we would not be able to make the advancements we have made in our studies of several different diseases. But it is clear that none of this would be even more remotely possible without the power of PS3, it has increased our research capabilities by leaps and bounds.”

Sony themselves are over the moon at their place in the Guinness Book Of Records, “To have PS3 play such a large role in allowing Folding@home to be honored by Guinness World Records is truly incredible”, said Masayuki Chatani, Executive VP and chief technology officer, Technology Platform, Sony Computer Entertainment. “This record is clear evidence of the power of PS3 and the contributions that it is making to the Folding@home network, and more importantly, scientific research.”