TOKYO: Panasonic brand products maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said it will launch the world's largest plasma display television, with a screen measuring 65-inches diagonally, on October 1, 2004 in Japan.

Matsushita, which is neck-to-neck with Sony Corp. for the title of world's biggest consumer electronics maker, is investing aggressively in both plasma and liquid crystal display (LCD) facilities to meet fast-growing demand for flat-panel TVs.

The company will produce the new 65-inch model at a plant in Osaka, western Japan. Production will start at just 500 units per year, but output could be ramped higher if demand proves strong.

"If there appears to be a need in the market, we will naturally raise output," said Matsushita spokesman Mike Kitadeya.

Matsushita's suggested retail price for the new model is 2.08 million yen ($18,810), putting it at the very high end of the rapidly expanding market for flat-screen TVs.

It has not yet made any decisions about a potential global launch.

In the North American market, a 65-inch plasma TV would likely face tough competition from rear-projection televisions, which are growing in popularity because they sell for considerably less than similarly sized plasma TVs.

Matsushita's new plasma TV would be bigger than a 63-inch plasma TV sold by South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co.

Reuters