Check it out, all you budding G. Gordon Liddys -- if the usual assortment of spy gadgets isn't doing the job, Sony's got something in the works that should be right up your alley. According to a little site called Siliconera, Sony's European arm has filed a patent for a remote-controlled car uses the PSP as an interface. This bad boy is equipped with a camera that feeds video back to the hand held and allows the user to upload the footage to a website. If that weren't all, the patent makes mention of an augmented reality racing game incorporating virtual markers and paths that the players physically create -- that is, the junk in your apartment is incorporated into on-screen game play. Innocent fun, right? Well, perhaps -- at least until Iran gets involved. They're still pretty bent by the whole squirrel thing.

[Via Joystiq]

Word on the prismatic, hinged mirror streets of camera-land suggest that NIkon is preparing to launch "new products" for Spring. Rightful speculation made after a press invite was purportedly sent to a variety of photog publications announcing an April 14th launch event. Expectations vary widely as to what will be announced including a new entry-level D60-followup with 720p video on up to a D400 with 16 megapixel Sony CMOS. We even have the dubious photo above showing a Nikon with articulating display taken by a jockey riding a humor forum who claims to have been traveling "somewhere in Eastern Europe and stumbled across a commercial shoot for Nikon." Sure, that's believable. Fortunately, we're just over a week away from knowing for sure.

Update: Well, well, what's this... we just received a big batch of spy shots that look authentic enough and clearly show what looks like a low-end Nikon with articulating display.

Update 2: We just received a few more pictures as well as the detailed backstory to this Nikon with swiveling display (a first for Nikon). Seems Kevin, a film student, was smitten by the Arriflex 235 435 motion picture camera used to film the commercial in Dubrovnik, Croatia yesterday. It wasn't until later, when he was reviewing the pics from the day, that he realized "that the subject of the commercial was the yet to be announced Nikon 500(0?)." Looks like a legit and incredibly fortunate find to us.

[Thanks, Kevin]

In the past we've noted (guessed) that as the economy continues its slippery-slide to Thunderdome, incidents of corporate espionage will continue to rise. And you know what that means: more cool spy gadgets! For instance, check out this 60 Minutes-esque hidden camera from Japan. Housed inside a phony smart card / ID badge (you can see the lens in the "d" on the word "card") the AME-105 is a 1.3 megapixel video camera that records using the AVI H.263 format at 352 x 288 resolution and 15 fps. This guy has 4GB memory, so it should let you do plenty of peeping, and when you're done with your Big Brother act, the footage can be offloaded to your computer via USB. Perfect for the little whistleblower in your life, right? All this can be yours for a mere ¥13,800 (about $155).

[Via Akihabara News]

With all the layoffs we've been seeing lately, it looks like an increasing number of tech professionals will be going mercenary in order to pay the bills. Of course, Engadget does not condone industrial espionage in any way, shape or form -- but if you do happen to find yourself "in the cold," as Le Carré used to say, you might consider Swann's MovieStick. This thing is small enough to fit inside a packet of gum, includes a lithium-ion battery (rechargeable via USB) and can store up to 2.5 hours of video on a 2GB MicroSD card (not included). There is no word yet on release date, video quality or battery life, but we're sure that this $119.99 (retail) beauty is just the trick for all those patented industrial processes you plan on stealing. But don't steal them. For realz.