In the wake of rumors circulated about a slimmer Sony PlayStation 3 in development, newly leaked pictures appear to confirm the early reports.

In an unlikely turn of events, the supposed leaked pictures came not from a tech site that specializes in unfounded rumors but from Anatel, the Brazilian Agency of Telecommunications. The tech world isn't quite sure what to make of the initial source for the images.

While the pictures seem to have been removed (which is further proof that this was a legitimate accident on Anatel's part), Tecnoblog managed to save the pictures before they went down and distributed them online.

The photos appear to show the redesigned PlayStation 3 from every possible angle, even displaying several serial numbers for the alleged Sony console.

Some images show a sliding panel, which may indicate that the redesigned slim PlayStation 3 will have a top-loading disc drive. The numbers, CECH-4011A, CHECH-4011B, and CECH-4011C, correspond with 16GB, 250GB, and 500GB hard drives.

When Sony's PlayStation 3 came onto the scene, it was the biggest, bulkiest console on the market. Things have changed a little since then, with the company launching a smaller version in 2009. However, that hasn't stopped demand for an even smaller, lighter version of the console.

Sony has not yet made an official announcement about the supposed slim PlayStation. However, diagrams apparently have shown up on the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's website, according to Joystiq. It is possible that Sony is simply waiting to make the announcement closer to Christmas to maximize the hype.

Right now, it seems pretty obvious that the rumored redesign is in fact real and will be hitting stores fairly soon.

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