Since 1991, the Worms phenomenon has seen six titles released, with worldwide sales in excess of eight million units. Worms 3D will be launched on 31st October for the Nintendo GameCubeTM, the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox video game system from Microsoft and the PC. Anticipation of the release is at fever pitch with the number of visitss on the Team 17 Worms 3D website averaging one million users a week.

SEGA Europe has joined forces with Team 17 to challenge all budding webmasters and fans to design their own Worms Fansite. To enter, participants will need to download assets in the form of a special webkit from www.worms3d.com. Once the site is completed, entrants must submit the URL which will then be added to the links page on the Worms 3D website. Team 17 will choose the top ten sites which will progress to the next phase. These sites will be given exclusive content for submission of the final site.

The winning site will be announced on 28th November. There are a number of prizes on offer to the winner and runners-up.

First Prize is a top-spec 'ixtreme 6093' 2.8 GHz PC from Packard Bell.

Five runners-up will each receive a 'Leadtek A340 FX5200 Ultra TD' graphics card from NVIDIA featuring GeForce technology.

Matthew Woodley, European Marketing Director, SEGA Europe, commented, "For years, restless kids have spent summer afternoons looking under paving slabs for worms. This is a good chance for fans to get creative with their wriggly friends. We're hoping the entrants will get into the spirit of things and tap into the humour that underlies the game. I'm really looking forward to seeing the results."

In addition to the 'Worms Webkit Campaign', the Worms 3D campaign website www.startawar.com is now live. Hosted by SEGA Europe, the site features a number of barmy features such as food recipes involving worms and a random insult generator to amuse yourself and your friends. Worms 3D is backed by an extensive advertising campaign across specialist, lifestyle and broadcast media.