Clearly Sony has warmed up to the idea of garnishing gameplay with advertising, as the company has inked a new deal with in-game ad firm Double Fusion to deliver ads in games running on the PS3. The deal is Sony's second in as many months, following a similar partnership last month with competing ad firm IGA Worldwide.

As mentioned previously, the move, while contrary to comments made by Sony's own CEO Howard Stringer, keeps with the PS3's recently opened advertising platform, which allows company like Double Fusion to sink their advertising teeth into Sony's console. Notes SCEA senior VP Phil Rosenberg, "PS3 is open for the ad business," though we imagine that by "PS3" he really meant to say "our wallet."

Love it or hate it, in-game ads are here to stay, and this morning both of Sony's North American and European arms drove that point home, announcing partnership with in-game advertising firm IGA Worldwide. The move follows some vocal trepidation from Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer earlier this year concerning the viability of shilling real word products in video games, concerns obviously muffled beneath the sounds of counting money.

Even so, the announcement was not wholly unexpected, particularly given the PS3's newly opened advertising platform, which was announced last February and allows firms like IGA to sell dynamic ads in PS3 games. Through this deal, IGA notes that it plans to offer clients the eyeballs of "16-35 year old consumers with disposable income," though the question as to whether or not gamers are inclined to run out and spend their money on whatever billboards happen to be in the line of fire remains a topic for debate. The bigger question, as we see it, is to what level Sony chooses to embrace in-game ads, especially given that two years ago competitor Microsoft went so far as to purchase in-game ad firm Massive for its very own.

Codemasters and in-game ad firm Engage have announced that the upcoming Race Driver: GRID will feature integration with the eBay Motors marketplace, allowing players to buy and sell in-game vehicles in a "realistic setting." GRID's love affair with eBay doesn't stop there, with the online auction house also sponsoring a race series in the game called "The eBay Motor Muscle Series," allowing players to the race the eBay Motors Mustang GTR concept car in downtown San Francisco, Long Beach, Washington D.C. and Detroit.

Codemasters describes the inclusion of the eBay Motors marketplace as an "essential element" and "a revolving plot point" in GRID which players will use to "continually upgrade or swap out vehicles," though whether or not sniping auctions out from under other drivers will be included remains to be seen.

Gearbox Software (Brothers in Arms series) has announced that it has inked a deal with Double Fusion to have them provide in-game advertising for upcoming titles (via Develop). Double Fusion has previously signed with Eidos, Midway and Take Two, among others.

No details on what future Gearbox titles will use in-game ads. Sometimes we wish the in-game ad deals were as outlandish as our Photoshop jobs. Imagine if Borderlands was renamed Burgerlands and featured a dozen Burger King soldiers playing "Capture the Whopper" with futuristic guns and war machines. Or Aliens: Colonies could let you take heartburn medicine to ward off chest-bursters.

Competition ahoy! Even though CEO Sir Howard "young people don't like advertising very much" Stringer is skeptical of in-game advertising, that hasn't stopped Sony from pursuing that path with some determination. After appointing Darlene Kindler to head up their in-game advertising efforts last October, AdAge is reporting that Sony will be "opening up" the PlayStation 3's advertising platform, allowing in-game advertisers Double Fusion, IGA, and Google's AdScape to sell dynamic ads.

Two years ago, Microsoft acquired in-game ad firm Massive which powers in-game advertising on the Xbox 360 platform. Sony's model is a "clear departure" from that – eMarketer's James Belcher says, "Making things open only makes things better for marketers or people who want to place ads because they aren't the mercy of a given network." With "baked in" ads, and competing dynamic services on the Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms, the reportedly $400 million game advertising business is going to become increasingly visible (for better or worse).

In-game advertising company IGA Worldwide outlined today how it plans to provide advertising to Electronic Arts' Burnout Paradise. Advertisers cited include Burger King, CompUSA.com, Diesel, Gillette and Sling Media, among others.

The Gamasutra article notes that advertising will consist of static ads, "including billboards, retail stores, radio stations and vehicles into the game." If they want to be very sneaky and intrusive, might we suggest a mission where you try to flee from an army of masked Burger King fanatics? It may not sell Whoppers, but it's a scary enough thought to make us drive as fast as virtually possible.

Proving that not all in-game advertising is used solely for evil, the Scottish government plans to spend £10,000 on virtual billboards to discourage drunk driving, the BBC reports today. The campaign will place anti-drunk driving messages in Xbox 360 racing games like Need for Speed: Carbon, Project Gotham Racing 4, and sports titles like Pro Evolution Soccer 2008.

The Scottish government is elated that the campaign will be going forward, as it believes that video games are a great way of reaching younger audiences. We couldn't agree more, and think that this is one of the smartest uses for ad dollars we've seen in a while. Kudos to the Safer Scotland campaign.