Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson has launched a new mobile entertainment service aimed at phone owners in the Asia Pacific region, allowing users to download movies, TV episodes, video games and music directly from retailers.

Sony Ericsson phone owners in select nations will be able to head to local PlayNow kiosks to download additional content, the company said in a statement.  An alliance with Sony Pictures Entertainment will offer consumers 30 movies, 23,000 DRM-free music tracks, 25 games and episodes from four TV series.  Movie downloads will be $18.40 for same-day releases, $2.20 per music song, and music albums will start at $14.72.

Sony Ericsson will first introduce 80 kiosks in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, with additional kiosks expected in other Asian nations.

Although it may seem silly to force phone owners to go to a kiosk to download content, Sony Ericsson hopes impulse buyers will use the kiosks -- the company plans to use them in Sony Ericsson stores, shopping malls, and train stations.

The global economic slump has forced retailers like Sony Ericsson to offer new benefits to consumers.  Both phone manufacturers and phone providers are using content sales direct to mobile phones to help generate revenue, while offering consumers ring tones, music and other content.  Local content will also be available depending on the geographic location of the phone owner, the company said.

"The competition is getting tougher so therefore we need to differentiate ourselves from our competitors," Sony Ericsson VP of Asia Pacific region Hirokazu Ishizuka said.  "This is the solution, we will provide a mobile entertainment experience which nobody can do."