Microsoft today confirmed the dates for the highly-anticipated Halo 3 beta program, in which players from all over the world will be able to fight against each other in the latest incarnation of the popular Bungie Franchise. Although not a public beta, Microsoft had a "Rule of Three" promotion to gather participants, and early copies of the game 'Crackdown' came with an invite into the beta, once it is available. The Microsoft press release has more details:

When gamers gather online to play the multiplayer beta via Xbox LIVE in May, they will be treated to three richly detailed, action-oriented maps: Snowbound, High Ground and Valhalla, which represent a mixture of large- and medium-scale combat environments and are brand-new to “Halo 3.” Each map will test gamers’ mettle as they are placed behind the controls of new “Halo 3” vehicles such as the agile Mongoose all-terrain vehicle, and armed with deadly weapons such as the new and improved Assault Rifle, the ferocious Brute Spiker, the devastating Spartan Laser and the treacherous new Spike Grenades. This is just a taste of what gamers will experience later this fall when “Halo 3” goes on sale.

Halo 2 is still immensely popular, with thousands of players online at any given time, and Halo 3 is expected to follow suit. Microsoft needs to test the capabilities of their service, and so a beta program is necessary. Hopefully gamers will be forgiving of the service during the beta period, as the servers will likely be tested under extreme duress. The goal during this brief period is not to provide a free Halo experience to ever gamer, but to test the multiplayer service that is likely to be in use for many years.

The beta program will run from 5 AM Pacific Time (or Microsoft Time) on May 19th through June 6th at 11:59 PM. The people getting up early to sit in front of the TV on that Saturday will not be just the usual kids, it may be older brothers back from college and even grown men who left friday night's party early to be home for the most anticipated beta in history.

“Halo 3” Multiplayer Beta Hits Xbox LIVE Worldwide on May 16 [Microsoft.com]