Cities XL allows gamers to develop cities on realistic 3D maps using an incredible collection of unique structures and monuments based on American, Asian and European-influenced architectural styles. The maps feature a variety of environments: mountains, hills, canyons, beaches and islands, all set in different climates from tropical to desert, Mediterranean to temperate. Players must create the right combinations of social services, leisure activities, special events and other job opportunities within their cities in order to feed, clothe, employ and entertain their citizens. Be it planning and building a new zoo, public park, residential neighborhood or transit system - there's always a fresh and exciting challenge for would-be city managers and mayors in Cities XL.

Point, Shoot... Win! Contest

• Do you have a camera?
• Do you want your home to be part of CITIES XL?

If you answered "Yes!" to the above questions, then you should enter our new “Point, Shoot... Win!” contest and have a chance to see your home or one of your neighborhood buildings in CITIES XL at release.

This contest is open to any registered member of the CITIES XL website.

1. From the May 16 to May 28, we invite you to submit your pictures in the dedicated forum.
2. Starting May 28, we’ll put all the pictures that meet the rules into a gallery where every member of the CITIES XL community will be able to vote for their favorite pictures.
3. On June 10, we’ll announce the winning pictures that will be included in the game!

In order to be part of the second phase, members must follow the rules below:

• Every picture must have been taken by you: if you win the contest, we will ask you to take some more shots using different angles. We will need these angles to model the building for the game.
• We reserve the right to not consider buildings for intellectual property reasons or other rules violations.
• We are only displaying your pictures , and therefore Monte Cristo is not responsible if your images violate your country's laws
• Buildings must be residential: from a simple house to a 20 or more story residential building (we may in a future contest ask you for other building types);
• We reserve the right to remove any building that doesn’t fit the above requirements.

Starting on May 28, we’ll allow members to vote for their favorite buildings and on June 10, we’ll announce the three winners.

The winning buildings will be modeled and textured by our graph artists and included in CITIES XL on day 1.

The game’s online features and services will allow players to create interconnected cities on virtual and persistent planets. Mayors can share and trade with one another, specialize their economy and team up with befriended cities to create sprawling metropolises. Life on the planet will be punctuated by events and competitions - a concert held in one town may, for example, be attended by visitors from other areas who can also enjoy a walk around the city to admire the urban creations of multiple players. By combining a fantastic single-player game with the social and multiplayer aspects of an MMO, Cities XL will shape the future of the genre by offering more variety, bigger cities and multiple gameplay layers.

Cities XL is currently scheduled to ship in 2009.