European World of Warcraft beta sign-ups start July 5

European gamers have a chance to get a taste of Blizzard's eagerly awaited massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft. The company announced today that sign-ups for the closed beta will begin on July 5 and will run for three weeks. Gamers from the English-, French-, and German-speaking markets can sign up at their respective Web sites.

The main purpose of the European beta is to work out the infrastructure and distribution of the game in Europe and to eventually verify the translation of the game for the French and German markets. The beta and eventual retail release of World of Warcraft will be supported by a full-time European team. Among other duties, the team will be responsible for localized customer support, in-game support through game masters, and community management for the game.

Blizzard stated that the final selection of beta testers will be randomized to ensure a good representation of skills, locations, and system requirements. No need to hurry though, because all applications received during the allotted time period will receive equal consideration. For an in-depth look at the World of Warcraft, check out GameSpot's comprehensive exploration of the game.