From a surprisingly early announcement Guild Wars 2 fans were shocked this week to see Beta and (vague) release details for Guild Wars 2
Having just wrapped up their first closed beta test they are now reading themselves for a string of beta events for the next few months.
In February select press will be invited to participate in beta event which we can only assume will produce some sweet and juicy game footage and turn some more exposure ArenaNet's way. In March and April they will be inviting members of the public (yes people like you and me) to beta events and aggressively ramp up the size of the events as time goes by.
Be wary of their language. They use 'beta event' rather than open beta so expect to see multiple weekend sized beta events rather than a solid 2 months of Guild Wars 2.
They went on to wrap up saying Guild Wars 2 release will then follow later this year, somewhat indicating they are on track for a 2012 release.