The new PlayStation 3 isn’t all about entertainment.

That’s the message Sony Corp. is trying to convey in announcing that the new game consoles – as powerful as supercomputers – can help Stanford University researchers analyze complex human protein structures and perhaps find cures for cancer, Alzheimer’s and other ailments.

Sony Computer Entertainment says that when Cure@PlayStation 3 is launched, PS3 owners can register their machines with Stanford, download specially designed software and leave their machines online to process data when they’re not playing.

It’s modeled after programs in which personal computers process high-volume data for signs of extraterrestrial life and other tasks. PCs already contribute to the Stanford medical research program.