Diablo III Beta to Start Summer 2011

In today's conference call, Activision/Blizzard's Mike Morhaine announced that the Diablo III external beta should start this summer, while the company is currently doing extensive internal testing and still aiming to release the game this year, if they're satisfied with its quality. Community manager Bashiok clarifies on the forums:
The 3rd quarter reference in the earning's call today was a calendar quarter, meaning that we're aiming to launch the Diablo III beta between July 1st and September 30th. Keep in mind that it's our current goal, and of course that can change as development continues.