Since we first learned that the company’s new SLS-AMG would grace GT5‘s cover, the company has been increasingly open about their affiliation with the game. First it was the showcased GT5 demo at their headquarter’s museum and dealers across Europe, but now they’re expanding use of the game as they integrate it with their international marketing efforts, as seen in Mercedes’ new Facebook game “Behind the Speed”. This simple game comes with a lucrative prize: a free copy of Gran Turismo 5 and your very own VisionRacer VR3 driving rig.

Gaming business news site MCV is claiming to have received word from a “source close to Sony” that Gran Turismo 5’s implementation of 3D technology and support for the new PlayStation Move controller are the reasons for the game’s extended development time. While 3D support has already been confirmed, until now PS Move rumors had been fueled by nothing more than some extremely vague statements by Kazunori Yamauchi early last month to gaming magazine PSM3:

There’s some good news confirmed in a new article from Auto Express – a “secret” demo was apparently at last weekend’s 24-hour race, which showed the Green Hell at night. They were also able to confirm that the race-spec Lexus IS-F which Yamauchi drove in the event will be included in the game:

You’ve probably seen Sony’s recent marketing campaigns featuring “vice president” Kevin Butler (played by actor Jerry Lambert) talking about the company’s latest first-party titles. His most recent clip focuses on Sony’s latest kart racing game Mod Nation Racers, but at the end he mentions his “next project – let’s just say it’s a little racing game that rhymes with ‘man furismo jive'” with a knowing look – understandably raising quite a few eyebrows in our forums and around the web.

This isn’t so much “breaking news” as it is “peace of mind”: Sony has prominently featured GT5 on its special E3 2010 website (click and drag the page to view the top left corner). This is, of course, a pleasant change from last year, when Sony actually requested the press not ask Yamauchi about the big game during interviews for what are now obvious reasons. E3 kicks off with Sony’s press conference at 11:30 AM PST on June 15th. As always, I’ll have everything you need to know right here, updated by the minute on the (hopefully) big day…

In what is presumably the last of Kazunori Yamauchi’s round of interviews to emerge from his time at Snetterton, he’s made a comment regarding the development status of the big game: