Sony to enter netbook PC market with new Vaio

TOKYO, July 7 (Reuters) - Sony Corp (6758.T) said on Tuesday it plans to launch a new Vaio laptop that will sell for around 60,000 yen ($629) in Japan in August, making its entry into the fast-growing netbook market.

Netbook PCs are smaller and cheaper than traditional notebook computers and optimised for simpler computing tasks such as Web browsing and email.

Pioneered by Taiwan's Asustek (2357.TW) in 2007, other global brands such as Acer Inc (2353.TW), Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N) and Dell Inc (DELL.O) have pushed out their own lines since then.

The new Sony machine is equipped with Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) Windows XP operating system and Intel Corp's (INTC.O) Atom processor.

Shares in Sony were down 2.1 percent at 2,360 yen, underperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index .IELEC.T, which fell 1.3 percent. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Chris Gallagher)