The Nintendo Wii has become the fastest selling video games console in British history after one million units were sold 38 weeks after the console made its high street debut.

The Wii achieved the one million landmark in a shorter time than the Sony PlayStation 2, which, after a difficult launch in 2000, went on to become the world's most successful console so far, selling more than 115 million units worldwide.

The Wii, designed to attract "non-core" gamers, is outselling both the struggling PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 by at least two-to-one.

Last month Nintendo announced that its first-quarter net profits soared more than five-fold, further vindicating the Japanese group's declared policy of making video games for "people who don't like video games".

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