Fujitsu Ltd. said on Tuesday it would launch desktop personal computers equipped with Blu-ray disk drives in June in Japan, becoming the first company to release PCs compatible with the next-generation optical disks.

The announcement comes one day after Toshiba Corp. unveiled a plan to launch in mid-May notebook computers that can handle HD DVD disks, which compete with Blu-ray disks in the market for high-definition optical disks.

Fujitsu also plans to launch notebook PCs with HD DVD drives in June, catering for both camps.

The new desktop PC from Fujitsu comes with a 37-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) screen and is expected to sell for around 600,000 yen ($5,063), a Fujitsu spokesman said.

He added the notebook PC was likely to retail at about 400,000 yen -- in line with the expected retail price for Toshiba's HD-DVD compatible notebook PCs.

Another Japanese electronics maker, NEC Corp., said on Tuesday it aimed to launch HD DVD-compatible personal computers by autumn this year and that it would consider offering PCs equipped with Blu-ray drives as well if there was demand.

At the core of both DVD formats are blue lasers, which have a shorter wavelength than the red lasers used in current DVD equipment, allowing disks to store data at the higher densities needed for high-definition movies and television.

Shares in Fujitsu closed down 2.6 percent at 985 yen, while NEC lost 2.0 percent to 898 yen, underperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index, which fell 1.47 percent.