Dearest fellow city planners, the SimCity Beta is prepped to begin January 25 and run through the weekend until Monday, January 28. The SimCity Twitter account notes players will get the chance to try out a "one hour slice" of the game.

Interested participants should head on over to the SimCity site and sign up for the beta. The full game's final launch date is hopefully set in concrete and is expected to hand out building permits on March 5.