Windows Live beta open

Get your skates on and head over to the Microsoft website if you want to take part in the Windows Live beta, which is now open for a limited number of people.

All you have to do is login to your Windows ID, answer a few questions, and join the fun. Like me.

Windows Live is basically Xbox Live for PC, as a good friend of mine once said, and was demoed at CES on upcoming game Shadowrun, which will let PC and Xbox 360 users play together, much like friends.

It's part of a larger vision by Microsoft to integrate PC, console, and mobile on one gaming service, injecting a bit of solidarity into the higgledy-piggledy world we call the Internet.