UK Charts: Need for Speed makes it six weeks at number one

Electronic Arts continues to dominate the UK software charts, with Need for Speed Underground holding on to the number one position as the first major batch of new releases of 2004 fail to make much impact on the market.

The highest ranked new release - and the only one to make the Full Price Top 40 - is Take Two's Mafia, which enters the chart at number seven thanks to its release on the PS2, with the Xbox launch still to come.

Take Two's other new release, the Vietcong: Fist Alpha mission pack on PC, failed to make much of an impact, appearing at number 13 in the PC Budget chart - but at least it fared better than EA's NFL Street and Looney Tunes: Back in Action titles, or Sony's RPG title Arc: Twilight of the Spirits, all of which are on this week's "missing in action" list.

Back at the top of the chart, Norton's Internet Security 2004 package displaced FIFA 2004 in the number two position, marking the highest ranking ever for a non-games title in the Chart-Track rankings, and spurred on no doubt by this week's digital plague of the MyDoom virus.

The rest of the chart is mostly minor jostling for position, although it's interesting to note that Sony's Eye Toy: Play has climbed once again and is now at number six in the chart, while Take Two's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is boosted up to number 13 from last week's number 17 thanks to a Platinum re-release.

The highest ranked Xbox title is the Grand Theft Auto Double Pack, with the top-selling exclusive being Project Gotham Racing 2 (at number 30 in the Full Price chart); meanwhile the GameCube has only one title in the Full Price Top 40 again this week, with Mario Kart: Double Dash clinging on at number 38.

Next week's chart should hopefully be more interesting, as further new releases make their way into the shops - including Sonic Heroes, Legacy of Kain: Defiance, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II, Rogue Ops and X2: The Threat.