is the PS3 region free?

I am going to japan in a few weeks and i am interested in buying a ps3 over there as it is so cheap. But is the ps3 region free?

yes they are,but backwards compatibilty is region locked!!!

so no PAL ps2 games for me then? but PAL ps3 games are ok

just take note that the region locking is at publishers discretion, meaning that the games publisher decides whether it is region free or not. SSCE has stated all games released through SCE will not be region locked, but for all others it is optional.

so far i dont think any games have diverted from being region free. but the future is not certain.