Source: The Times of London.

　　What we heard: In April, Sony revealed the second delay for PlayStation Home, an online, avatar-based social-networking hub for the PlayStation 3. Since then, the publisher has been adamant about getting Home's open beta out by the end of the year--or more precisely, fall 2008. To that end, Sony has steadily added to its closed beta pool throughout the summer.

　　With all eyes turned toward the open beta, The Times of London appears to be under the impression that Home in its full glory is a mere 10 days away. In a spotlight feature article posted Sunday, The Times stated, "To try Home, which is slated for release in the next 10 days, players must download a piece of free software from Sony's PlayStation store onto their own PS3." (Emphasis added)

　　The official story: "Not sure where that report generated that date," Patrick Seybold, SCEA's director of corporate communications and social media, told GameSpot. "We haven't made any announcements on a specific date for when we'd roll out the open beta for launch, except to say by the end of the year."

　　Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that Home proper will arrive in the next 10 days. However, with fall 2008 officially expiring as of 12:01 a.m. on December 21, it seems as if Sony will be taking this one to the wire. Don't be surprised if the long-promised open beta lands on or around December 17 (more likely December 18, considering Sony's proclivity toward Thursdays).