Yesterday, we ran a story suggesting that Microsoft would be locking-out Xbox live accounts for 24 hours as punishment to gamers for sharing their accounts so that friends outside of the US could download the Call of Duty 4 multiplayer beta.

Major Nelson has now put the record straight:

I've seen a few stories circulating today about a huge Xbox LIVE banning related to the COD4 beta. I went and chatted with the ban hammer folks, and confirmed what I suspected: We did NOT ban tens of thousands of folks yesterday as some are reporting. As many of you know we do sometimes have to take action against accounts and consoles that violate the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use. Although we're really impressed with the excitement around the Call of Duty 4 multiplayer beta, I do want to take this moment to point out that that the steps I've been reading about that some people have been trying to take to get in on the beta without their own token could very well violate our Terms of Use.

Remember that sharing accounts isn't just a violation of the terms, which could get you banned, it's actually not a good thing to do in general. People can get details about you or content from you, or try to take action against you when you do something like that. It is your responsibility to keep your account information safe. Regarding the COD4 beta, the best advice I can give in a situation like this is try and be patient. We know you all want to play, and we think that’s great, but if you break the rules, you can be banned.

So, what he seems to be saying is: You can share accounts and can get the COD4 beta this way, but if you're caught you could possibly be banned. Over at the UK Xbox forums there are waiting lists of people hoping to share accounts with people who have the Call of Duty UK beta client.