Your PlayStation 3 is about to graduate to version 2.60, as new firmware for the console is coming soon (read: actually really soon). What’s it add? New multimedia features and “guest access.”

That guest access is limited to the PlayStation Store, designed for those fearful of joining the 17 million-strong PlayStation Network. Yes, you can now browse the PlayStation Store without an account! Hooray!

Potentially more exciting are new multimedia features, including support for DivX 3.11 encoding and a new Photo Gallery application. The Photo Gallery itself is a 100 MB download, according to PlayStation Network Operations director Eric Lempell, and will give PS3 owners new ways to sort, display and manage their pictures.

Video of the thing in action can be seen at the official U.S. PlayStation blog.

Upcoming PS3 Firmware (v2.60) Update [PlayStation.blog]

When asked by the mag if the now BC-less console kills any chance of offering PS2 games via the PlayStation Store, as it does for original PlayStation games, Lempel said “We haven’t talked about that yet, but there are possibilities through technology and software emulation to make that possibles.”

Lempell chose not to talk about “specific plans at this point” but that doesn’t mean we can’t hope. And pray. And start online petitions.

The full interview, which is actually with Sony Computer Entertainment SVP of marketing Peter Dille—he says backward compatibility is “important to us”—is in the newest issue of EGM, which is in subscriber hands now. We hope that 1UP will publish the interview online, in-full, at some point soon.