Sony and Polyphony's Gran Turismo 5 and its prequel, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, certainly looks better and better each update, and this particular one is no exception. 1up managed to sit down with producer Kazunori Yamauchi, who discussed the game's online features in detail.

We've already heard about Prologue's TV mode, which lets Gran Turismo gamers witness real-life racing events such as Japan's Super GT without having to exit the game. Another noteworthy online feature in Prologue is My Page, a customizable webpage of sorts in-game where players can change their wallpapers. Weather reports are also shown in My Page, and also displays online friends around the world using a global map.

Yamauchi is also planning to integrate the Gran Turismo franchise even deeper into the driving/racing lifestyle, selling cars in-game in Gran Turismo. Car dealers will be able to communicate with prospective buyers through voice chat as they go on a virtual test drive. Transactions are made in-game, and the car will be ready to be picked up... in real-life.

Will Yamauchi's ideas indeed be implemented? We sure do hope so ourselves.