Xfire, Blizzard launch WOW contest

The planned World of Warcraft film is still in limbo, but Blizzard is forging ahead with another movie-related project--just not one of its own.

Blizzard and Xfire, maker of the gamecentric instant messenging program of the same name, today announced a contest that will award $23,000 in prizes to the best fan-made videos that feature the popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

The contest will allow video-editing gurus to submit movies in four genres: comedy, drama, music and dance, and short features. Comedy, drama, and music and dance videos can be no longer than 10 minutes in length, while short features can't cross the two-minute threshold, according to the official rules.

The grand-prize winner will receive a "top-end enthusiast" computer valued at $5,000, while first-place awards and prizes will go to the highest-ranked movies from each of the four genres.

The contest's deadline is September 12, and Xfire and Blizzard will select finalists from each category on September 25. The finalists' fate will then be left up to the voting public, as Xfire users will be able to view the final-round movies and choose their favorites. Voting will end two weeks later on Monday, October 9, with the winners--decided by votes--announced on October 12.

Only players from the United States, Canada, and Europe are eligible to enter the contest.

For more information, including the contest's official rules, visit the official Web page on Xfire's site.