OSAKA (Kyodo) Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Monday it has started taking advance orders for its 103-inch plasma display panel TVs -- the world's largest -- in the United States.

Matsushita officials said the U.S. market will be the first to see the oversize screens because demand for large-screen TVs is higher there than in Japan or Europe.

Shipments to the U.S. will begin in the fall and to Europe and Japan by the end of the year.

Broadcasting companies are expected to be among the first customers for the huge TVs, the officials said.

The 103-inch plasma TV is about 2.3 meters wide, 1.3 meters high and slightly larger than a double bed. Matsushita has not set a price.

The electronics maker's plasma display panel plant in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, began turning out screens at full capacity in June, the company said.