TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp said on Tuesday it plans to launch a new Vaio laptop that will sell for around 60,000 yen ($629) in Japan in August, making an entry into the fast-growing netbook market.

Netbook PCs are smaller and cheaper than traditional notebook computers and optimised for simpler computing tasks such as Web browsing and email.

Pioneered by Taiwan's Asustek in 2007, other global brands such as Acer Inc, Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Inc have pushed out their own lines since then.

Sony, the last major PC maker to enter the netbook segment, hopes the new product's design and high-resolution display will help the consumer electronics giant establish a presence in the market, a company spokeswoman said.

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