In addition, all former and current players who join the action during the promotion will be eligible for prizes such as t-shirts, drink coozies, free yearly subscriptions and more.

Playnet Inc. and its in-house development studio, Cornered Rat Software, launched "WWII Online: Blitzkrieg" in June of 2001 with follow-up retail releases, "Readers' Choice Edition", "Macintosh Edition" and most recently, "Battleground Europe" in many European countries. The current version is available through direct download at www.battleground-europe.com or as a game-on-demand through Matrix Games (www.matrixgames.com)

"Its been a roller-coaster ride beginning with one of the earliest MMOG launches to growing and supporting a fiercely-loyal player community all the while trying to continue the innovative and unique approach to development that's seen WWII Online stand alone as the ultimate PvP MMOG available", says Al "Rafter" Corey, Executive Producer for Playnet. "We're so proud to stand up and say that we're still here and thriving after 5 years. This promo is just a small way for us to say thank you to the thousands of players, past and present, who helped make it possible."

More details of the 'Welcome Back Soldier' promotion and how to get a 14-day free trial of "WWII Online: Battleground Europe" are available at www.battleground-europe.com.