Sony just announced that the new major firmware update 2.40 will be released on July 2nd.

The Sony PS3 firmware 2.40 enhancement allows XMB (XrossMediaBar) access in-game. This means that you can access the PS3 menu at any time while playing most games, simply by tapping the PlayStation button on your controller.
With 2.40, you can check if any of your friends are online (thanks to their own user profile), read and send messages, change some settings for games, all without having to quit the game you are playing. While you can’t pause an online multiplayer game involving other people, you can rejoin play at any time when you’ve finished browsing. Along with these enhanced communications features, the Friends list capacity will double to 100 Friends.

The Sony PS3 system update 2.40 also delivers trophies to recognise players’ achievements in the online arena.
Other competitive activities recognise winners with trophies – so why not gaming on PS3? Many online games will have gold, silver and bronze trophies – with platinum available for those who snag all three – all displayed on the XMB for everyone to see.

Super Stardust HD, a PLAYSTATION Network-exclusive released last year, will be the first game to leverage the Trophies system and will offer a variety of trophies. The following first-party games are also slated to offer Trophy support: BUZZ!, Quiz TV, LittleBigPlanet. MotorStorm Pacific Rift, NBA 09 - PS3, PAIN, PixelJunk Eden, Resistance 2, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation and Warhawk.
See this video demo of the new in-Game XMB and Trophy system features of 2.40.