Nintendo Australia has confirmed a release date for the Nintendo DS Lite, with a shock surprise that the handheld will be launched in the territory on June 1st, eleven days before the redesigned system is released in North America, for AU$199.95 (£83).

Eyebrows were perhaps raised in 2005 when the original DS launched in the Southern-hemisphere territory three weeks before Europe, but with today's news there's sure to be 300 million Americans with their jaws dropped in horror.

There's still no news as to when we Europeans will get our hands on the DS Lite, though hopefully we'll find that out during the course of this week.

We'll have more news shortly...