To celebrate the successful launch of Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, the development team will hold its first coordinated in-game community building event this Friday, July 4. Planned to coincide with America's Independence Day celebration, the team is encouraging players to commemorate the Star Wars holiday of Unification Day by creating and launching fireworks within the game at predetermined locations every hour. More information about this Friday's Unification Day celebration can be found at www.starwarsgalaxies.com

"As evidenced by the incredible player turnout during the first week, the launch of Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided was the single most successful introduction of an MMO to date," says Simon Jeffery, president of LucasArts. "The game has broken all previous records for first week subscription totals, which bodes very well for the ongoing success of the game."

"Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided is the fastest selling MMO in history," says John Smedley, president, Sony Online Entertainment. "We're ecstatic to be in a position with Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided where we can begin to offer events, such as the Unification Day celebration, so soon after launch. Throughout the development and into the launch of the game, the community has continued to grow stronger and more supportive and these types of events are a way for us to say 'thank you' to our players."

The Star Wars Galaxies development team is working on a variety of new features, such as player-owned ground vehicles and player cities, along with substantial new content to be added on a regular basis throughout the coming months.