Need for Speed: Most Wanted has held on to the number one spot in this week's UK charts, holding off a strong performance by Ubisoft's King Kong to take the coveted Christmas No.1 position for Electronic Arts the third year in a row.

The title follows in the footsteps of last year's Christmas number one, Need for Speed Underground 2, and Medal of Honour: Rising Sun back in 2003 - and means that only Take Two's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, in 2002, breaks EA's dominance of the Christmas top-spot in the past half-decade.

While EA may be picking up the gold once more, rival Ubisoft also makes a strong showing in the chart, with movie licensed title King Kong seeing a sales boost of 64 per cent - no doubt thanks to good word of mouth and the popularity of the movie - and rising two places to number two.

Activision's Call of Duty 2: Big Red One also does well, holding on at number three in this week's ranking - chart compilers Chart-Track note that the title has been "heavily retailer promoted" - while EA close up the top five with FIFA 06 at number four, down two, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire holding steady at five.

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories was the top-ranked PSP title this week, holding firm at number 12 in the all-formats chart, while Mario Kart DS was the best-selling DS game, down a single place to number 27.