Feb 3, 2011 11:46 GMT  ·  By

Japanese-Swedish mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson is expected to come to the market in the near future with a new mobile phone running under Google's Android operating system, one that would also include enhanced gaming capabilities, namely the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play.

Nothing was officially announced on this new mobile phone, but it surfaced quite a few times before in various photos, hands-on videos and the like, and it seems that more info on it emerged recently.

To be more precise, a photo that shows the in-store booths Sony Ericsson is readying for this device has emerged, courtesy of AllAboutPhones.

While the image does not provide additional details on the mobile phone itself, it does give us a glimpse at the manner in which the handset vendor would plan on having retailers marketing the new smartphone.

The words 'smart phone' and 'smart gaming' can be seen on these booths, which clearly show that the preparations for this device's landing on shelves are pretty advanced, and that the phone might not be too far behind either.

As the guys over at Engadget note in a recent article, a T-Mobile logo can be seen there as well, though this is not a clear reference to the US carrier, that's for sure.

Following the unveiling of Sony Ericsson Xperia arc at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in early January, it should not come as a surprise if the phone maker brings its new Xperia Play handset to the Mobile World Congress, which is only a few weeks away.

Previous rumors on the smartphone suggested that it would pack appealing hardware inside, and that it would be powered by Google's new Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system.

Hopefully, Sony Ericsson would indeed aim at making the Xperia Play (which was spotted previously as the PlayStation Phone) official in the near future, so keep an eye on this space for more info on the matter.