PS3 region settings

[GoldRush]

im going to america in may and i was wondwering iff i can buy a PS3 there, i dont know iff its region free or what does anybody know where i can find such information about console and is it posible to chip a ps3 cause that way it got nothing to do with region settings or what so ever
only thing i can reckon is voltage but thats solved buy buying an psu for the ps3

[MrPlow]

PS3 games are currently region free so you'll have no trouble playing jap/uk games on a us console, if you managed to get one of the last stock of machines that will play PS2 games then it'll only play NTSC versions and not UK (PAL), the same applies to PS1 games but backwards compatability won't be removed like PS2 BC.

Blu-Ray/DVD are also region encoded so you'll only be able to play US or region 0 discs.

[GoldRush]

where did you find all this info mr Plow and does it also counts for PSP and is there a way to rebuild it like they do with xbox with a chip or anything