Sony has released an update for US PlayStation 3 users which will increase the effectiveness of the Folding@home distributed computing project.

Folding@home is a Stanford University initiative aimed at understanding protein folding, misfolding and its related diseases.

The v1.2 application update also provides PS3 users with added functionalities and features, including support for Remote Play for the PlayStation Portable and added protein simulations and visuals.

It also offers a screensaver mode which enables the PS3 to consume slightly less power, and increases the performance of protein-folding simulations.

More than 536,000 PS3 users worldwide have downloaded the Folding@home application and have delivered up to 600 teraflops of data.

"We take a lot of pride in the fact that more than half a million PS3 users worldwide have dedicated a portion of their machine's capabilities towards helping Stanford University and their Folding@home team research many of the diseases that inflict our society today," said Jack Tretton, president and chief executive at Sony Computer Entertainment America.

"It is one thing for us to provide the technology to make this possible; it is quite another to have gamers from all over the world proactively sign up for this program to make a difference in our global community.

"We could not be more pleased with the results we have seen to date in this collaborative effort."