XBL Twitter, Facebook beta this month

The next public beta for the Xbox 360 dashboard will take place before the end of the month, according to a representative for Microsoft.

The latest update will include Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm integration, and was first announced at E3 earlier this year.

"People are excited about the new services coming to Xbox Live such as Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm," said Craig Beilinson, director of marketing for Entertainment and Devices at Microsoft, during the company's Open House event in New York.

A limited number of users will get an invite to the beta, as will members of the the press, although exact details have not been finalised, reports MTV.