The mailman comes a-knocking - hence, our choice of picture. 1UP reports that Bungie has decided on who will be the lucky dogs of war who will participate as part of the Phase 1 registration Halo 3 multiplayer Beta test. You know, the ones who have braved the nightmare of server lags and server crashes, and wearing out the Reload clicker on their mice.

Those lucky dogs of war shall be receiving the good news via email sometime soon - the emails are going out between the 22nd and 26th of January.

Now for those who won't be getting an email? There are still Phases 2 and 3. There's the "Rule of 3" - play Halo 2 till your eyes bleed, for three hours - between February 1 and 3 to qualify for registration on February 5. Only 13,333 allowed, though.

Or you can purchase as many Crackdown games as you can handle, and hope at least one of then holds the keys to the kingdom - er, the Beta.

For those who WILL be getting an email from Bungie, please remember. Humility is a virtue.