Nintendo and Opera have announced that they plan to bring the popular Opera browser to a handheld near you. There's been rumours of such software for the DS ever since the PSP launched its own web browsing software. Certainly a wise move by Nintendo.

"In Opera's agreement with Nintendo, Nintendo DS users will now be able to surf the full Internet from their systems using the Opera browser. The Opera browser for Nintendo DS will be sold as a DS card. Users simply insert the card into the Wi- Fi enabled Nintendo DS, connect to a network, and begin browsing on two screens."

How much will the card cost? Apparently it will be 3800 yen (that's around £20 or $30). Not too shabby I guess, we feel it really should of been bundled with the DS at launch though.

"Gaming devices are growing more advanced and a great Web experience is becoming a product differentiator for gaming manufacturers. Opera is excited to work with Nintendo to deliver a unique dual screen, full Internet experience on Nintendo DS."

Opera for DS will have a unique interface over other hand held devices, you will see re-sized version of the page on your bottom screen, on which you can drag a zoom box around, viewing this box at full size on the upper screen.

This all sounds pretty impressive, we'll be looking forward to getting our hands on it and giving it a go.

[source opera.com]