Pro Evolution Soccer 5 announced

As England and Chelsea defender John Terry signs up to be one of the faces for Pro Evolution Soccer 5 in the UK, the first details of the latest Winning Eleven - known as Pro Evolution Soccer on our terraces - have begun to emerge from Japan, where the game is scheduled for release on 4 August.

Winning Eleven 9 will feature improved player animations, the added option of snowy weather conditions, and the introduction of two new positions - wing back and second top. We'd like to clarify what role a 'second top' player fulfils, but we have absolutely no idea.

It's pretty much business as usual in terms of game modes, with the usual array of league and tournament competitions, although an entirely new mode, called Nippon Challenge Go for 2006, gives players the opportunity to navigate the Japanese national team through the World Cup qualifiers. It hasn't been confirmed whether a similar mode will make it into PES5, however.

Most importantly, Winning Eleven 9 will have online play, and, while Xbox owners have been able to enjoy PES4 online already, PS2 players will undoubtedly be keeping their fingers crossed that this feature will make it into PS2 versions of PES5 as standard.

In related PES news, stories are currently circulating that Konami has at last confirmed the widely , and, contrary to earlier , the series won't be released for DS.

We spoke to Konami to try and clarify the situation, but they stated quite unequivocally that they currently had "no information" regarding format details. However, they did confirm that they would be making a PES announcement in the next few weeks. We'll keep you posted.