The clever marketing people at Bungie have developed a 60 second ad about Halo 3 that will be aired today, 4 December, first on US TV, then on Xbox.com, and then on the Xbox Marketplace.

The hype is to generate interest not only in the game, but also in the beta test version, for which the company is looking to sign up gamers.

By visiting www.halo3.com on 4 December, North American gamers will be able to register for the chance to be a beta tester once the trial version kicks off in spring 2007.

The game's developers have promised that the the beta will be available in Europe and in the rest of the world as well, although they haven't released the details on registration for those markets yet.

As of this morning in the UK, no details were yet posted on how to sign up for the beta on the Halo 3 site, although it's likely to appear after the ad runs during Monday Night Football on ESPN.

>> Halo 3 - official site