Anyone out there waiting for Sony Corp. to unveil its own version of Second Life must continue waiting — until autumn, at least.

That’s the new, if rather vague start time for the three-dimensional online virtual world called “Home” that Sony first promised to open last September. Sony announced the latest delay in a statement today.

“We have come to the conclusion that we need more time to refine the service to ensure a more focused gaming entertainment experience that what it is today,” Sony entertainment boss Kazuo Hirai said in the statement.

Home follows Second Life in offering a virtual world for gamers to roam as avatars, but with a bit more of an entertainment-oriented twist. However, Sony has been evasive when asked to explain the distinction.

Second Life has become so popular that real-world businesses have set up shop there trading in virtual dollars. This business concept creates new possibilities for communications between people as well.

About 13 million accounts exist in Second Life, with 35.000 to 40,000 people accessing the “metaverse” at any one time.

Sony has been hoping Home would boost PlayStation 3 sales among non-gamers. The console benefited from discontinuation of HD DVD earlier this year — PS3 contains the rival Blu-ray technology — but it still lags behind Microsoft’s Xbox 360 in overall popularity.