Call of Duty Elite is now live, kind of - the pre-release beta has gone live on Xbox LIVE.

Officially landing later this year, to coincide with the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launch in November, Elite will be part premium service, part free to use. The social network interactions, such as Facebook integration will be available without charge, those who want to access things like game performance analysis and DLC will need to cough up.

The beta release is coming in stages with phases for feature testing and limited invitations rolling out in the coming weeks.

“Call of Duty Elite is all about connecting our amazing fans around the globe in ways never before possible and we are excited to get their feedback so they can help us further develop, tune and test the service, as we head into our launch in November with Modern Warfare 3,” said Chacko Sonny, studio head at Beachhead Studio.

“A public beta with the massive Call of Duty community is the best way to generate the scale we need for end-to-end testing.  While Call of Duty Elite will continue to evolve post-launch, we want to deliver the most polished, complete and rigorously tested service possible on day one. We’re looking to get as many participants in the beta as possible, so we ask that fans stay patient as we ramp up in the coming weeks.”

To register for the beta, go to www.callofduty.com/elite. A PS3 version of the beta is scheduled for "a later date".

Check out our guide Call of Duty Elite explained for more info