When it comes to the kill-or-be-killed frenzy within the video game world of "Halo," she's somebody who walks softly and carries a big gun.

The 20-year-old Midvale woman with the bouncing blond ponytail and soft voice seems an effervescent sort. But give her the MA5B Assault Rifle, and she's likely to wipe up the floor with you and anyone else within 10 meters.

"They would get so p----d off because they were getting beaten by a girl," Newman said gleefully about the countless "Halo" matches she's had with boys. "I got that a lot in my gaming career."

Newman, a member of the all-girl "PMS" video game clan, was a hard-core "Halo" player. Now, she's ready to jump back into the fray.

The violent saga of the Master Chief resumes today when Microsoft launches its latest entry in one of the biggest video game franchises of all time - "Halo 3" for the Xbox 360 video game console.

"I don't think there is a bigger launch, even since 'Halo 2,'" said Dan Hsu, editor of Electronic Gaming Monthly. "Nothing commands this kind of hype or anticipation."

So far, 1 million gamers have pre-ordered "Halo 3," and publisher Microsoft is expecting the game to eclipse the one-weekend entertainment sales record - $150 million set by last summer's "Spider-Man 3" movie.

For "Halo 3," it's a record well within reach. According to Microsoft, "Halo 2" generated $125 million in U.S. sales in the first 24 hours when it hit store shelves on Nov. 9, 2004. The new "Halo 3" retails between $60 for the standard edition all the way up to $120 for the "Legendary Edition," which includes a second disc of extras and comes in a helmet-shaped case.

More than 10,000 retail stores across the U.S., including Gamestops and EB Games in Utah, planned to open at midnight this morning to start selling the game.

"Halo 3" is a first-person-shooting title in which the player controls the Master Chief, a burly genetically-enhanced super-soldier who runs through battlefields, firing on anything to save the human race from the Covenant, a race of lizard-like creatures.

While the game has a single-player campaign, the "Halo" franchise really took off through the popularity of multiplayer modes, in which players could either face off against each other or as teammates over Xbox Live, Microsoft's online gaming network.

And men aren't the only virtual online killers out there. Thanks to popular titles like "Halo," "World of Warcraft" and "Battlefield 2," hard-core women gamers have been on the rise, forming teams like PMS and crushing competitors.

'The hottest thing': PMS is an international clan founded in Texas that now has teams all over the world. Game publisher Ubisoft promotes its all-female gaming team, the Frag Dolls, at tournaments around the country.

"What [all-girl gaming clans] have done is help women get out of the closet. They sort of serve as role models," said Hsu. "It just lets people know that girls can play hard-core games and 'guy' games. If I see that their [online] namer tag has 'PMS,' I'm actually afraid to play against them."

Mia Espinosa, a 27-year-old clothing store clerk in Salt Lake City, is so involved in the "Halo" mythology that she has read a lot of the fan fiction and graphic novels and has a tattoo on the back of her neck of some cryptic Covenant hieroglyphic.

"When I played "Halo" with other guys, I'd usually be in the top three," said Espinosa, who pre-ordered "Halo 3" a year ago. "Now I'm really excited for 'Halo 3.' I even bought the $120 special edition that comes with the Master Chief helmet."

When Chrissy Newman, who co-owns an Internet gaming center in Midvale called Toxic Gaming, first played testosterone-filled games like "Halo," there were few if any hard-core female video gamers.

Now, she says, at least one or two come into her business every day.

"I see that there are more and more female players, and it makes me so happy," she said. "A lot of girls will get into it to try and impress their boyfriends, and with the Nintendo DS [Nintendo's portable gaming console], they've made a huge effort to bring more girls into gaming. It's the hottest thing now to be a female gamer."

Generation 'Halo 3'

* Microsoft stands to make hundreds of millions more for its gaming division as "Halo 3" could yield one of the biggest grosses in entertainment history. See page C1

'Halo 3' launch party at the U.

* Gamers and engineers at the University of Utah will celebrate the launch of "Halo 3" with a party and tournament today.

* The U.'s Student International Game Developers Association club (SIGDA), along with the Entertainment Arts and Engineering program, the School of Computing and Microsoft are sponsoring the event, today from 6 to 9 p.m in the Warnock Engineering Building on the U. campus.

* The event is free and open to the public but tournament players must register in advance at

www.iammasterchief.com/. Use RSVP code uutah.