DICE confirmed at Gamescom earlier today that Battlefield 3 will include co-operative gameplay, and even presented a live demo showcasing how it works. From the screenshot above [and video after the break], it seems like you'll always be able to see what your partner is doing, kind of like Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter's Crosscom. Well, either that, or the second player gets severely duped with the screen ratio.
I quite enjoyed what was shown in the demo, and to me it had a Rainbow Six feel to it, with the duo creeping inside closed-quarters co-ordinating who was going to eliminate which tango. "I'll take the left side, you stay on the right." Awesome. Pure. Awesome.