Vodafone and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe have announced a partnership that will see the UK headquartered international carrier become the ‘preferred partner’ to provide connectivity for the 3G version of Sony’s forthcoming portable gaming console. The deal extends across Europe, taking in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Vodafone’s Partner in France (SFR), as well as in Australia and New Zealand. Vodafone is yet to announce any details on logistics or pricing.

The PlayStation Vita will ship as a wifi-only and a combined 3G and wifi model. The latter will enable gamers to compete online where ever they are and to use social networking tools, such as Twitter and Facebook. Customers will be able to purchase both 3G and wifi only models of the PS Vita direct from Vodafone channels in stores and online.

“We know from our application downloads that games are hugely popular with our customers, so we’re delighted to be SCEE’s preferred connectivity partner for 3G Vita,” said Patrick Chomet, Vodafone’s group terminals director, in a statement. “Using the device over Vodafone’s high-performance network with extensive 3G reach and market-leading download speeds brings a reliable ‘anywhere anytime’ dimension to gaming.”

A tweet sent this morning from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe this morning read, “As far as we’re aware, this is the first tweet sent via PlayStation Vita,” which James Gallagher, manager of Sony’s European PlayStation blog confirmed to Telecoms.com, was sent over a Vodafone 3G connection.

The PS Vita will ship in Japan before Christmas and is scheduled to arrive in Europe and the USA in February 2012.