Virgin Media has announced that it is to be the headline sponsor of the Eurogamer Expo 2012 consumer show in September, and will offer its superfast broadband for gamers to try out.

If nothing else, up to 120Mb broadband makes mincemeat of download speeds over Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and Steam, among others. And it's surely the first step to realising Microsoft's ultimate plans to offer purely digital download versions of games, as rumoured.

In addition to supplying the fast internet speeds, Virgin Media will also be using its "Tickles" reward scheme to offer customers free tickets to the show, VIP early-access passes and the chance to play some exclsuive games titles before anybody else. And considering the date of the Expo, 27-30 September, that could be a swathe of the top Christmas releases.

"The Eurogamer Expo is a landmark, annual event for UK gamers, who want sneak previews of brand new games and be able to experience the best that technology can deliver," says Luke Southern, head of sponsorship and partnerships at the service provider.

"Virgin Media makes that happen, with superfast broadband as standard. As the UK’s fastest broadband provider we offer the best speeds for downloading games, which makes our partnership with Eurogamer Expo, a perfect one."

Tickets for the Eurogamer Expo 2012 go on sale from 23 February at www.eurogamerexpo.com. From the same day, Virgin Media customers will also find out more and buy tickets at tickle.virginmedia.com.

Pic: (cc) Weefz