SCEE's Got Some PlayStation Network Downtime Pledged For This Evening.

Those of you getting out of work at 5PM to slot in your brand new copy of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood or Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, prepare to be furious. The maintenance is scheduled for between 16:05 and 01:00GMT. Users will not be able to access the PlayStation Store, Account Management, Account Registration and the PlayStation website during the period of downtime.

Online multiplayer will work, as long as you're signed in to the PSN before the downtime starts. There's more information over on the PlayStation Blog.