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The World of Warcraft has taken the world of online gaming by storm. In the UK much of this game's popularity has much to do with the splendid PR it has received and the excellence of the game itself. The Press has promoted the game and the players took up the call and pushed it further by word of mouth - making it perhaps The Word of Warcraft.

Set in the World of Azeroth the game pits the Alliance humans, dwarves, elves, gnomes and draenei against the evil Horde orcs, undead, tauren, trolls and blood elves. For under £10.00 a month, players can create up to 10 characters on a server with allegiance to either Alliance or Horde. Beginning at level 1 they can rise as slowly or as quickly as you desire, depending on the time you put in and your willingness to join Guilds and groups and help others, until they reach the current level cap of 70. At level 40 they can buy mounts horses, big cats, mechanical chickens, wolves etc and at level 60 you can get epic mounts that look fantastic and move faster. When your character is ready, usually around level 58-60, you can head through the Dark Portal to the Burning Crusade where much of the land is a desolate burning waste fueled by fires from the invasion of the demons and monsters and indeed inhabited by such creatures as perhaps only hell itself vould spit out. Only here in these Outlands can characters at level 70, buy Flying Mounts gryphons and hippogryphs which are often required for quests on the distant floating fragmentations of land that hover high above the ground, some grey and barren others green and lush with trees, grass and you may even see some small furry creatures.

Weekly maintenance keeps the game playing almost 24 hours a day, every day, with very few breakdowns, which when you consider there are about 9 million people playing WoW, is pretty darn good. For the press LUNCHPR send out regular bulletins and for the dedicated player there are online websites, such as www.thottbot.com that can help you find quest items and characters. Overall this is the biggest and best of the current crop of MMOs. There are a lot of players on similar games - Everquest 2, Vanguard, Ryzom etc - and at the moment the LORD of the RINGS (LOTRO) is picking up players and the buzz is that WARHAMMER will soon be online.

GOA AMASSES AN ARMY FOR
WARHAMMER® ONLINE: AGE OF RECKONING™ BETA TEST

GOA, the France Telecom-owned publisher of online games, and Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS), the world’s leading interactive entertainment company, announce today that more than 200,000 players signed up for the forthcoming Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™.The Warhammer Online Beta Centre opened simultaneously in Europe and North America on May 30, and the 200,000 registration mark was surpassed over the weekend, less than ten days after launch. This makes the beta test of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning one of the most rapidly growing beta tests in the history of the MMORPG category. The Beta Centre is currently open and accepting applications at www.WAR-europe.com.

“Such an amazingly high number of subscribers to the website and beta test is fantastic news and very encouraging,” commented Ghislaine Le Rhun, Senior Vice President of GOA. “It proves the game has already struck a cord with gamers who are hungry for the greatest MMO experience available. We are also delighted to be able to say a big ‘Thank You’ and to reward gamers’ loyalty and enthusiasm for WAR by offering them the chance to become part of the beta experience and to play the game months ahead of launch.”

“We would like to thank the community for their tremendous response to Warhammer Online. The overwhelming worldwide response to beta test has been phenomenal. The team has been working incredibly hard on creating a genre-defining experience, and the beta signups certainly validate the direction we’re taking the game,” said Mark Jacobs, VP and General Manager of EA Mythic. “Player input and testing will be crucial in our efforts to complete the game, and we look forward to beta participants’ help in shaping Warhammer Online.”

Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™ launches simultaneously in Europe and North America early in 2008 and is based on Games Workshop’s popular Warhammer fantasy world. Please visit www.WAR-europe.com for the chance to join the beta test and for more game information and regular updates.