General Beta[]
On October 12th Funcom announced their datacenters are ready to start allowing new people into their general beta. They will start by allowing different competition winners and people who signed up for the beta into the beta. It is possible they will have an open beta in the beginning of 2008, but Funcom are very carefull to point out that the beta process is a way of getting feedback to complete the game, and that an open beta will only take place if Funcom feel they need it in order to get the feedback they need.
You can still apply for an Age of Conan beta at the beta application page.
Competitions[]
Funcom have had several competitions where people can win a spot in the Age of Conan beta. Although the general beta just started, many people are promised a spot through competitions on different gamingsites and other media. They've also made sure that the community who have followed the game for years get a chance to be in the beta with competitions such as "Beta for Alphas" and and "Beta for Veterans" [1].