MUMBAI: US music broadcaster MTV, Harmonix, and Electronic Arts (EA) have launched Rock Band.

This is a platform for music fans and gamers to interact with music. Rock Band will allow gamers to perform music from the world‘s biggest rock artists with their friends as a virtual band using drum, bass/lead guitar and microphone peripherals, in addition to offering deep online connectivity.

The initiative has been built on deals with record labels and music publishers, the music featured in Rock Band will span all genres of rock and include many of the master recordings from the biggest songs and artists of all time. Rock Band is slated for release on Playstation 3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft later this year.

Music publishers - EMI Music Publishing and Warner/Chappell Music - are allowing unrivaled access to their catalogues of incredible songs for use in Rock Band. The record labels - EMI Music, Hollywood Records, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group‘s Universal Music Enterprises and Warner Music Group‘s Rhino Entertainment - have agreed to supply master recordings by their artists for use in the game.

Harmonix co-founder and CEO Alex Rigopulos says, "Harmonix was founded to create new ways for everyone to experience the pleasure and satisfaction that comes from playing music. Our work on Guitar Hero was an instrumental step toward that goal.

"But Rock Band is Harmonix‘s most ambitious project to date, and it will take music gameplay to an entirely new level. MTV has given us the freedom and the resources to really swing for the fences and make the game we‘ve always wanted to make."

MTV Programme Enterprises executive VP Jeff Yapp says, "Our vision for Rock Band is to completely change the way people interact with and enjoy the music they love. By joining forces with EA and the music industry‘s largest record labels and publishers, we are striving to create a groundbreaking new platform that allows people to connect with their favorite music and artists in ways they never have before."

Electronic Arts will serve as the exclusive distribution and marketing partner for Rock Band, managing distribution for the game in US, Europe and Australia.