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RUSE PC beta "later this year"

Or could be some sort of trick.

Ubisoft has announced plans to let PC gamers have a crack at a beta version of strategy game RUSE "later this year".

You can sign up now over on the Ubisoft website, and if you're fortunate enough to be picked from among applicants you'll presumably be hearing from them.

RUSE is a PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 strategy game in which players take a General's-eye view on proceedings, zooming in and out of World War II battlefields to issue orders and make big decisions.

The game's gimmick is that you can also attempt to trick rival commanders by employing the titular ruses, which allow you to observe enemy movements over great distances, move silently to flank them and send decoy forces to mask your assaults, among other things.

You can read much more about how it works in our RUSE hands-on preview. The full game's out in 2010.