EA is slowing moving toward providing more online social gaming experiences as seen with their Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online game and the recently announced FIFA Online. Now that it's got some sports games lined up EA is spreading its wings a bit and trying its hand at racing games; specifically, Need for Speed World. Billed as the first racing MMO, Need for Speed World is going into it's first beta period and you might just be able to get in.

EA's Black Box announced today that the closed beta for Need for Speed World has begun. The beta is expected to last several months and will include "thousands of players worldwide." If you want to get in, head over to world.needforspeed.com.

The beta itself features head-to-head racing and Need for Speed classics like police pursuit mode that spans 150 miles of the game's open world. The game will use cities and tracks from Need for Speed Most Wanted and Need for Speed Carbon so you might be familiar with a few of them.

Read more: Need for Speed World Enters Closed Beta Stage - We've Got Images

Just a quick note here; if you use the Facebook or Twitter apps on the Xbox 360 you might notice a couple of changes today.

According to the Xbox's own Major Nelson you can now view your friends walls and profiles in Facebook. In Twitter, you'll finally be able to save your password and auto sign-in.

I'm not real big on Facebook because I'm old and don't want people to know about me or what I'm doing. I don't use the Twitter feature on the 360 but it's nice to know they are looking to improve it and not just walk away like I'm sure a lot of you expected they would on these things.

Now if only Microsoft would add a damn web browser to the Xbox already.

Read more: Microsoft Updates Xbox 360 Facebook and Twitter Apps

Got another video to share today; this one is from the rebooted Medal of Honor game. This is the extended trailer that was shown on GTTV over the weekend. I like what I'm seeing here but what I really want to know about is the MP and how it will compare with BFBC2.

Read more: Medal of Honor Extended Trailer

Here's a video featuring some night racing footage from GT5. The video is included in the Blu Ray God of War III disc if you want to watch it full screen.

Read more: Gran Turismo 5 Night Racing Video

Racing games are a dime-a-dozen and that's not going to change anytime soon. The only thing it seems that changes is environment that we drive in. Polyphony Digital is giving us one more that hasn't been seen recently - night racing in Gran Turismo 5..

In the latest screenshots you'll see the dark track and head/tailights as you try to not crash while snaking around the other drivers.

It's an interesting idea and the images look great. Showing the headlights and shadows is certainly one way to show off GT5s advanced lighting and shadows. You know what would have showed it off better? That's right - zombies in the car or at least on the road. Zombie+Car Racing=Best Game of all time.

The current release date on this is fuzzy; Amazon has it listed as November 10th but I've heard reports the game will be out sooner.

Read more: Night Racing in Gran Turismo 5

The Xbox 360 exclusive Crackdown 2 finally gets some release dates. The game hits July 6 in North America, July 8 in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and July 9 in Europe. Microsoft also released the first of three video documentaries for the game; this one is entitled Fun with Friends.

The video features interviews with developer Ruffian Games people and discusses the open-world nature of the game and it's 16 player PvP and 4 player co-op.

Read more: Crackdown 2 Hits the Street in July