The much-hyped Halo 3 video game has go on sale in the US, Australia and New Zealand.

Hordes of Halo fanatics queued outside high street stores last night as they attempted to get their hands on the third title in the popular series.

Halo 3, one of the most heavily marketed video games in history, has been billed as Microsoft's big weapon in the console wars with Nintendo and Sony.

Developed by Bungie Studios, the Halo franchise is exclusive to Microsoft's next-generation Xbox 360.

Microsoft expects day one sales of the title to break through the $140m barrier. This would make it the largest opening for an entertainment product, surpassing that of any blockbuster movie.

A spokesman for Xbox said: "The expectation is for sales to match the opening weekend of a Spider-Man or Pirates of the Caribbean."

The first two titles have sold more than 15 million copies worldwide.

"Our customers have been waiting for Halo 3 since the day after Halo 2 launched in 2004," said Jill Hamburger, vice president of movies and games at Best Buy.

"Halo 3 is going to bring the experience to new levels, and we are excited to help our customers get the best possible game playing experience."

Reports suggest that US-based Microsoft has spent a whopping $10m on promoting Halo 3.

The game also cost the company a reported $15m to develop.

Halo 3 will be available in three different versions in the US - Standard Edition at $59.99, Limited Edition for $69.99 and the Legendary Edition at $129.99.