To commemorate Vana'diel's third birthday, Square Enix will be holding the third annual Final Fantasy XI fan festival in Santa Monica, California March 9 through 11. At the event, Final Fantasy XI fans can expect "major announcements," developer panels, and an opportunity to take a crack at the MMORPG's upcoming third expansion pack, Treasures of Aht Urhgan. For ticket and other types of information, head over to FFXIfestival.com.

It looks like North American fans will be able to sample the Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XI before the newest expansion itself, however, as gaming blog Joystiq is reporting that beta disks for the second console iteration of the game will be distributed in the February issue of Official Xbox Magazine. The disc will contain both of the previously-released expansion packs and will be available on January 17.