Why have empty get set properties instead of using a public member variable?

Possible Duplicate:
C#: Public Fields versus Automatic Properties

Duplicate? I think not:
This question is not the same as "Why use properties instead of public field". A property with a specified getter and setter is far different than a public field. My question was, is a property WITHOUT a getter and setter, any different.

With the somewhat recent ability to have empty getters and setters, what is the benefit of using them instead of just declaring a public member variable?

Example:

public string MyProperty
{
    get;
    set;
}

versus:

public string MyProperty;