Sony will release a notebook next week with a built-in Blu-ray Disc drive for playing movies and recording video in high definition.

The Sony Vaio AR Premium will cost $3,500. Along with a Blu-ray drive, the notebook will come with an Intel Core Duo processor, 1GB of memory, a 17-inch screen and a complimentary copy of the movie "House of Flying Daggers" in the Blu-ray format. Sony is taking preorders for the computer on its site.

Meanwhile, Vaio AR notebooks with a DVD burner instead of a Blu-ray player will start at $1,800.

The launch of the Blu-ray-enabled notebook will mark Sony's commercial push into the high-definition disc wars. By the end of June, the company will also release the RC300 desktop, a multimedia PC that will come with a Blu-ray drive.

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