If you're among the legions of World of Warcraft fans that's been hoping to get a shot at trying out The Wrath of the Lich King, we have some very good news. Blizzard has just sent out a press wire announcing that this much-anticipated expansion will be a playable over at the upcoming Games Convention at Leipzig, Germany.

Visitors fortunate enough to play will be introduced into the frigid territory of Northrend's Howling Fjord region. And from here, players will also get a taste of Utgarde Keep, a dungeon requiring a 5-man level 70 party to accomplish. Fans who've played through Warcraft III may remember Howling Fjord as the same area where Arthas' expedition landed in their pursuit of Mal'Ganis the dread lord.

Another game that's also expected to be playable is Blizzard's much-awaited StarCraft II RTS. To be available in the game's demo will be the Terran and Protoss races, with both single and in multiplayer battles to be playable over six different maps. This year's GCDC opens for the trade on Wednesday, August 22, and will be open to the public from Thursday (August 23) to Sunday (August 26).

A new listing appeared yesterday on German software ratings board Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (USK) regarding World of Warcraft and supposed next expansion Wrath of the Lich King. The listing was accompanied by the tag "GC-demo" hinting that Blizzard will be revealing it at this year's Games Convention in Leipzig Germany.

Quite intriguingly, we checked back at USK's online site but Wrath of the Lich King was nowhere to be found. There have been talks before that the next expansion will revolve around the northern icy region of Northend. This is the place where Warcraft III hero Arthas Menethil made his stand against the dreadlord Mal'Ganis.

However, the hero was eventually corrupted by the Frostmourne sword due to the meddling of Kel'Thuzad. It really is an exciting place to build the next expansion on but Blizzard isn't confirming anything yet. Gaming sites Eurogamer and GameSpot tried to contact Blizzard but the only response they got was, "We have not yet announced any details with regard to future expansions of World of Warcraft".

They came, they saw, and they will conquer. We're letting the readers know that the European Regional Finals for World of Warcraft's Arena Tournament are almost upon us, with the event kicking in this June 22 to 24, in Hamburg, Germany. This upcoming competition will see eight of Europe's finest teams slug it out for their region's title. Here are the participating teams:

• Feel the pain
• Millenium
• Art øf War
• Log
• Knockout
• Nashwan
• Warders of the Melee
• Deathwing
  

The competition proper will see these groups fighting in double elimination rounds with best out of five games for each encounter - maps to be used will be "The Ring of Trials", "The Circle of Blood" and the new "Lordaeron" map. The winning team for this match will bring home the title of the European Champion, as well as tickets to the Global Finals at the upcoming BlizzCon 2007 event this August.

Up ahead (or rather, below) is another of World of Warcraft's famed fan Machinimas. This particular video is put together by WoW player taco, who resides in the aptly named Death and Tacos guild (a parody of Death and Taxes, perhaps?), with this presentation named "Taco Reloaded". The video is basically a montage of taco's PvP action with his undead mage in Europe's Terrodar server (taco's from Germany), and showcases some heavy editing to make the whole ordeal all the more interesting.

In case you guys were wondering where video's sounds, here's the list detailed at warcraftmovies:

• xzibit "x" (instrumental)
• system of a down "angry cockroaches" + "let's get a taco" (reservoir dogs dialogue)
• theodore saphiro "two dragons"
• klaus badelt & mark batson "a-500"
• 24 soundtrack "up and down stairs"
• kool & the gang "jungle boogie"
• pulp fiction soundtrack "surf rider"
• dj honda "on the mic"
  

Not exactly another preview to more of the game's upcoming features, but we figured players here will appreciate the effort put into productions like these. Happy viewing!

 

Dell announced today the winners of their eBay charity auction of two limited-edition World of Warcraft XPSTM M1710 notebooks. The winners are Trip Hoover of Texas and Daniel Marinow of Germany, whose combined bids for the unique notebook PCs reached nearly US$ 12,000.

All proceeds from the auction will go to America's Second Harvest, the Nation's Food Bank Network. "We are very pleased to accept this generous donation from Dell," said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of America’s Second Harvest. "This fun and innovative charity auction will help us provide thousands of meals to Americans who are at risk of hunger."

Dell is also sponsoring an online sweepstakes in which WoW fans can win one of five XPS 710 H2C Gaming PCs outfitted with new 27-inch wide screen monitors. Fans can head on over to dell.com/imagination and put their WoW knowledge to the test by answering five questions about the game. They are then entered into a random drawing for a chance to win one of the five high-end gaming systems. The drawing will be on or about February 20.

We told you The Burning Crusade is going to have launch party. As busy as the players and the developers are, they just can't do without them. Anyway, we've just spilled the beans about the different U.S. locations of the said gathering and our readers from other countries are wondering if they get to have a party too.

Don't worry druid friends, we've got you covered! And no, we're not only referring to the 150 Oxford Street in London. Aside from that one, there are other launch parties as well in France, Germany and Sweden. If you are not sure if there's a one near your location, here are the complete addresses:

• France: FNAC (74 Ave des Champs Elysées; Doors open: 0:00 – 04:00, January 16)
• Germany: Media Markt (10627 Berlin-Charlottenburg Krumme Straße 48; On sale: 0:00, January 16)
• Swden: EB Games Gallerian (Hamngatan 37 Stockholm; Doors open: 0:00, January 16)
• UK: HMV (150 Oxford Street London W1D 1DJ Paris 8e; Doors open: 11:00PM, January 15)

Blizzard also mentioned that the World of Warcraft expansion will be available by midnight in most areas. The ones included in  the above mentioned list are just the official venues, meaning members of the development team will be present to meet gamers and sign copies of the game. Finally, Blizzard is suggesting for everyone to ask their local dealers if they will be open by midnight.

Halloween's just around the corner, and Blizzard's celebrating it too, with an interesting gaming twist! Blizzard's giving out Blizzards iPods to five lucky winners of the Blizzard Costume Contest, which is already ongoing.

Want to join? Well, if you're aged 15 and up, and happens to be residing in the specified countries (take a look at the bottom of the article), then just dress up as your favorite Blizzard character (any Blizzard game will do) and send in your photo via email. You need to take two pictures of yourself, one prior to the Blizzard character makeover (meaning, you should be in normal clothes), and another when you're in full Blizzard-character garb. Errr no, photoshoppery is banned in this contest, so stay away from photo modifications, alright?

All photos are to be submitted through the Contest Submission page, so better bookmark it now if you intend to join. They're accepting entries until November 1 only, so better get your creative juices flowing before Halloween. Want to know whether you're eligible or not? Check out the list below:

• Participants aged 15 or more residing in:
• France
• Belgium
• United Kingdom
• Luxembourg
• Participants aged 18 or more residing in:
• Germany
• Austria
• Sweden
• Finland
• Denmark
• Norway
• The Netherlands
• Spain
• Ireland

Remember, this is a Blizzard Costume Contest, so stray away from that Spongebob Squarepants costume of yours, alright?