Halo 3 public beta in spring

It's not just Xbox's fifth anniversary today, it's Halo's - and to celebrate the Bungie chaps have announced plans to do a public multiplayer beta of Halo 3 on Xbox Live next spring.

Yes, that means that sometime early next year you'll be able to play Halo 3 with your friends, with your feedback being collected for Bungie to take into account - ahead of the full game's release later in 2007.

That's not all either - with Halo 2 by far and away the most popular game on Xbox Live even now, Bungie's planning to release some premium multiplayer maps for it next spring as well.

And and and, there's going to be a special 60-second trailer for Halo 3 appearing on US TV on 4th December, which ought to make its way onto Xbox Live Marketplace - in high definition - shortly afterward.

Unfortunately today's announcements don't shed much more light on the game, although on the story front is notes that "Master Chief returns to finish the fight, bringing the epic conflict between the Covenant, the Flood and the entire human race to a dramatic, pulse-pounding climax". Although you'd probably guessed that bit.