According to research conducted within the popular virtual world Habbo, Sony's PlayStation 3 would appear to have greater mind share among today's youth. The Global Habbo Youth Survey 2008, which looked at responses from 58,486 individuals in the virtual world between October and November 2007, found that 69 percent refer to the PS3 console as "great" or "good." The Nintendo Wii wasn't far behind at 64 percent, while Microsoft's Xbox 360 trailed with 58 percent.

There was one exception, however. The results showed the PS3 edging out the Wii in every age group except the 11- to 12-year-olds. Unsurprisingly, the Wii was also found to be favored among females. As for the popularity of the Xbox 360, Habbo's survey backs up the notion that Microsoft's console is less popular in Europe and Asia, but more popular in the Americas in general. In fact, it is the most popular console in Mexico and Colombia and it comes in second in the U.S., Canada, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

Interestingly, in terms of ownership, the results for the three consoles were fairly even – perhaps an indicator of just how tight the global console battle is. 24 percent of the teens surveyed own a Wii, with 23 percent own a 360 and 21 percent own a PS3. "The results do suggest significant growth potential, with each of these consoles there is another 20% planning on buying one of these consoles in the next 12 months," noted Habbo officials. "The Wii and PS3 have the most sales potential: the amount of respondents that are interested in buying them is 4 to 5 percentage points higher than for the Xbox 360."

"The results of this survey are interesting as it gives us an insight into which brands these teens aspire to as the level of ownership does not correspond to the consoles' popularity," commented Emmi Kuusikko, Director of User and Market Insight at Sulake, the company that runs the Habbo world.

"As Sony and Xbox strive to broaden their console's appeal, from hardcore to casual gamer, the results of the survey seem to indicate that gender, not previous gaming experience, determines console choice. Regardless of their level of interest towards gaming boys prefer the PS3 and girls prefer the Wii," added Kuusikko.