Nintendo's free 3DS messaging application is part of a stellar pre-Christmas eShop offering...

Nintendo has confirmed that Letter Box - the free 3DS messaging app - will be hitting the eShop in Europe this Thursday.

Letter Box allows 3DS users to send messages, 2D and 3D drawings, photos and sound recordings to your friends via SpotPass. You can also swap messages with other 3DS owners via StreetPass. Letter Box is its own standalone piece of software, so it isn't clear whether you'll be able to swap messages whilst playing a game.

Also hitting the 3DS eShop is WayForward's sure-to-be-superb 2D action platformer Mighty Switch Force!, while the original, Game Boy iteration of Tetris is the big-name addition to Virtual Console.

No press release was available this week, so here's the bare list of the full release.

Letter Box (Nintendo) - 3DS Download - FREE

Tetris (Nintendo) - 3DS Virtual Console - �3.60/�4

Mighty Switch Force! (WayForward Technologies) - 3DS Download - �5.40/�6

Castle Conqueror - Heroes (Circle Entertainment) - eShop/DSiWare - �4.50/�5/500 Points

Commando: Steel Disaster (Cinemax) - eShop/DSiWare - �7.20/�8/800 Points

Football Up! (EnjoyUp Games) - WiiWare - 500 Points

MotoHeroz - DEMO VERSION (RedLynx) - WiiWare - FREE