Electronic Arts has officially announced that Red Alert, a spinoff of its real time strategy franchise Command & Conquer, is returning after a seven year break with Red Alert 3 for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 systems.

According to EA, Red Alert 3 will feature a new fully co-operative mode, allowing two players to team up and play through the game's campaign, and will see the series returning to its 'light-hearted style and classic action-orientated game play.' A public beta is planned for summer 2008 but no firm date for the beta or an official release date for Red Alert 3 has been given. In the meantime, you can check out the first actual in-game screenshots here.