Okay, so right now, if you're a US or Canadian resident with an XBL account linked to a Passport account and you use Internet Explorer 6 on Windows (or can create a configuration that mimics the above) you can access www.halo3.com and begin the signup process for the beta.

Along the way, you'll be told that you have to be 18, you have to be a US resident, and if selected you have to have an Xbox Live Gold account and an Xbox 360 with the hard drive.

[image:43093 left hspace=5 vspace=5 border=0] Halo fans will be reaching for their remote controls this evening as they get ready to watch the first television advertisement for Halo 3 tonight during Monday Night Football in the U.S.

The commercial was created by Digital Domain using some of Bungie's models for Halo 3, but unlike most promotional materials for the Halo series to date, is not actually rendered in the game's engine and is not intended to be representative of gameplay.

I can't see any official confirmation of this from Bungie yet, but it appears as if Microsoft sent out a press release that says there'll be signups for the public beta of Halo 3 multiplayer on Xbox Live, and that the signup form will be at www.halo3.com.

Then head right over to Something Awful for their sneak preview of Halo 3 where the Master Chief can kill you with his mind.

That's how long a look 1Up actually got at Halo 3's campaign mode. They described the area they were in as an outdoor war zone on Earth. They mentioned Covenant air craft that disregarded them, and a new Ghost apparently specialized for use by Brutes. Oh, and the Gauss Hog returns.

Other than that... not much, but what did you expect?

[image:42911 left hspace=5 vspace=5 border=0] A selection of the screenshots of Halo 3 multiplayer that have been featured in gaming magazines and embargo-breaking European websites for the past week or so are now up at Bungie.net in pretty high resolutions. Inside the main Halo 3 image gallery, Rampancy now has a Halo 3 Multiplayer screenshot gallery for them. Enjoy!

1Up's latest Halo feature is a retrospective on the Halo series. The teaser on their three weeks of Halo 3 microsite mentions the "Halo/Marathon universe" but there's nary a mention of Marathon there, and as we all know, the two universes are separate anyway. Right?

[image:42829 left hspace=5 vspace=5 border=0] Bungie commemorates the fifth anniversary of the release of Halo with an announcement that touches on both Halo 3 and Halo 2.

First, there will be a Halo 3 television commercial airing during Monday Night Football on December 4th.

Secondly, in the spring of 2007 there will be more Halo 2 maps available. They won't be free, and you'll need a 360 with the hard drive (required for Halo 2 backwards compatibility anyway).