Sony Corp. executive Kazuo Hirai announced on Saturday that the PlayStation Network's PS3 and PS online gameplay services are back online around the world although the PlayStation store will come back online at a later date.

First of all, I'd like to send my sincere apology for the inconvenience the outage has caused you and wanted to thank you for the patience that you've shown as we worked through this restoration process, Hirai said.

The following services have been restored:

- Sign up for PlayStation Network

- Qriocity

- Online gameplay across PS3 and PSP

- Music unlimited if you have a current subscription for PS3 and PSP

- Access to 3rd party services such as Netflix, Hulu, Vudu and MLB.TV

- Friends list, chat functionality, trophy comparison and PlayStation home.

PS3 users will immediately notice one of our new security features, Hirai said. All PS3 customers must change their PSN and Qriocity account passwords. Your new password can only be changed on the same PS3 in which your account was activated or through validated e-mail confirmation.

The PlayStation store and purchasing features for Qrocity, as well as other services would returned as soon as possible, he said.

The company had greatly upgraded data security systems, he said.

Components of the new security system include:

- Advanced Security Technology

- Increased levels of Encryption

- Additional firewalls

- Early warning systems for unusual activity

We know even the most loyal customers have been frustrated by this process and they're anxious to use their Sony products and services again, he said.

I wish we could have restored the network services faster but these attacks were serious and sophisticated and it simply took time to install and test the new security measures across our entire system.

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