A massively version of has been confirmed by Sports Interactive, and will be released on the and Mac, though not for a while, as the developer have confirmed the title will not be out in March 2008.

While release is along way off, SI are plotting a beta test of the footie manager game which will begin next month. Oh, and the game's called Football Manager Live.

Creating a custom team, FM Live will see you locking managerial horns with up to 1000 other gamers on each server.

"Imagine a cross between Football Manager, fantasy and auctions sites - and you are part of the way to understanding Football Manager Live," enthused SI boss Miles Jacobson. "It's great to be able to announce the game, and we can't wait to see the reaction to the beta when it launches next month."

Players joining the game will either be assigned an automatically picked squad, or select your own with a 100K per week wage budget. Standard leagues and user-created leagues will be available to test the mettle of your squad, and while fixtures will be pre-dated, you won't have to be present to participate with the game playing your matches for you if you can't attend.

It all sounds much like a vast version of the current FM title, albeit with player auctions and other new systems in place rather than the transfer systems from the current game. More on all this as we get it.

By Luke Guttridge