PlayStation Home set to open its doors Thursday

Hard to believe, but come tomorrow, PlayStation 3 owners will finally get the chance to stroll around Home, Sony's ambitious virtual world that's been brewing for more than 18 months (and is officially still in beta).

The news comes courtesy of the official PlayStation blog, which notes that a few design improvements to the Central Plaza—think main lobby—and the addition of a new mini-game will greet new Home visitors on Wednesday.

Home has, of course, been in development for many moons now and was beset by multiple delays. But the Second Life-type virtual world—in which PlayStation users can create avatars, meet and greet each other, play mini-games, go shopping, and set up parties for retail multiplayer games—started gaining momentum in the past several weeks, especially after Sony released version 1.0 of the Home software to beta testers in late November.

I've been checking out the Home closed beta for the past week or so—under strict instructions not to discuss my impressions, of course. But multiple beta testers have already posted their impressions (Ars Technica called Home's open spaces "nicely detailed" with "admirable" variety), and Sony promises much more content in the coming weeks, including entire rooms based around individual retail games (where you'll be able to meet and discuss strategies with fellow players), as well as customizable "personal" spaces, "club house" rooms, and plenty of shopping opportunities (naturally).

Specific changes for tomorrow, according to the PlayStation blog: A "redesigned" Central Plaza, including a new mini-game called "Saucer Pop" (in which you pop as many bubbles as you can with your flying saucer) and a new and improved "Listen@Home" jukebox, which now lets you pick from a list of songs and vote for the ones you want played.

I'll be checking out Home bright and early tomorrow, so keep your eyes peeled for my impressions. And if you see a tall, lanky avatar with glasses and blond spiked hair (peking2), be sure to say hello.