GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson has published his latest APB: Reloaded blog entry, and it contains a ton of information about the upcoming closed beta. Here are the highlights:

• To apply for the beta, submit your e-mail address on the game's official site and create a GamersFirst account.
• Closed beta e-mails will be sent out around the first week of February. You will be asked to submit additional data.
• About 20,000 e-mail addresses have been submitted for the closed beta test. GamersFirst's goal is to have approximately 6,000 to 8,000 players in the closed beta.
• GamersFirst will be testing components that have been updated since All Points Bulletin went dormant, as well as some of the new balance and progression systems.
• Beta testers will receive some sort of permanent reward.

Book-Larsson goes on to confirm that they plan on letting original APB players reclaim the original content that existed when the game shut down, including customizations, gear and character names. However, players likely won't get back all of their progression data and will definitely lose all of their old RTW points or cash-equivalent credits. Check out the entire blog entry for more details.