Sony has announced the imminent arrival of a playable time trial from Gran Turismo 5 for PS3.

On 17 December, a downloadable, one-track level featuring the Nissan 370Z will hit PlayStation Network and will be an entry point for 2010’s GT Academy, the competition that will find Europe’s best virtual drivers and train them to become real-life racing drivers at the UK’s famous Silverstone racetrack.

Last year, PlayStation and Nissan’s GT Academy transformed the life of Spanish student Lucas Ordoñez, who entered the GT Academy and emerged a fully fledged member of the Nissan race team, winning his spurs at the Dubai 24H. This is your chance to follow his steps as a virtual-to-real racecar driver.

Download the Gran Turismo 5 time trial on December 17 and try to beat the clock. Your best time will be uploaded to a national leaderboard – and you can keep improving it, again and again, until the demo is taken down in late January. When that happens, the 20 fastest drivers will be invited to a national final, where they’ll race head-to-head on Gran Turismo 5 and undergo a series of aptitude tests. From there, the winners will be taken to Silverstone, where they’ll get behind the wheel of a Nissan 370Z for real as part of 2010’s GT Academy.

To find out more, head to www.gran-turismo.com .