Sony confirmed on Wednesday that it is working to add native MP3 support to its portable music players--a major strategy reversal that could help it compete more effectively with rivals such as Apple Computer.

"We're discussing plans to bring flash players to the United States that support MP3 files, but we have nothing to announce at this time," said Gretchen Griswold, a representative of Sony Electronics.

Sony is revisiting its MP3 strategy at a time when competition in the digital music market is heating up and threatening to leave the company behind. The surprise move could portend a major strategy reversal for the consumer electronics giant, with important ramifications for the fledgling online music market.