World of Warcraft hits Europe

Legendary developers Blizzard have finally launched World of Warcraft European closed beta sign-ups - but it's not too late to get involved.

In order to participate, potential testers will need to register online through the official European Blizzard websites for the English, French and German speaking markets: , and . The game will even be localised into the three languages, providing a truly Euro experience.

It's good news for newbies too, since a random approach to selection means everyone gets the same chance of being involved, regardless of skill, location and the system owned.

Blizzard point out that the beta is designed to test gaming details, as well as the technical compatibility and general infrastructure of the European servers. The latter will be supported by a dedicated World of Warcraft team whose role it is to provide community management and in-game support.

It's taken a while (Blizzard aren't best known for their volume of releases) but if the quality of their previous output - including Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo - are anything to go by, the European beta test will be one of this summer's hottest gaming experiences.