Xpand Rally producer Techland informs that it has closed the registration process for beta testers and began the beta test. Over 10.000 people registered during the one week registration period! As announced before, Techland chose 2.000 from the registered users to become the Xpand Rally Official Beta Testers. Among all the registered the majority are residents of France, United States and Germany. However, there were also registrations from such countries as the United Arab Emirates, Korea and Malaysia.

Warhammer Online is a new massively multiplayer online computer game that allows players to take on the role of outlaws and mercenary adventurers within a grim and gritty realisation of Games Workshop's dark, gothic fantasy world. Spawned on the margins of society, our players can rise to become mighty heroes or infamous villains, living on their wits or the cut of a blade! Famous or feared throughout the Empire for their daring and bloody deeds!

Dutch developer Team6 has released a demo for their racing game Shanghai Street Racer giving you a chance to try out part of the game. Street racing like you never experienced before: Shanghai Street Racer is -the- high energy arcade style street racer for your PC! Fast cars, dangerous tracks and reckless driving guarantee a lot of incredible crashes and highspeed action (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Perimeter is a real-time strategy game built on the concept of territory seizure using detailed terraforming and on the subsequent encircling of these zones with a special protective perimeter. The game combines proven principles of controlling resources and unit groups with titles featuring a clear-cut seizure of living space. Read more for some new screens & In-game trailer ...

Electronic Arts and Maxis today announced that it's time for a new Spring wardrobe! The arrival of The Sims 2 Body Shop is just around the corner, and The Sims 2 team has been working hard to get this tool ready for you to create Sims as wild as your imagination.

Cenega Publishing have just announced a new title to be launched this year on the PC. Gooka: The Mystery of Janatris is a point-and-click action adventure game, where the gamer takes on the role of the main character, Gooka, a respected Judge whose success and convictions have earned him high respect from the law abiding citizens. Along with his son, Yorimar, Gooka possesses telepathic abilities, allowing him to see into the minds of others and even affect their actions ? a skill that the powerful criminal Houses of Janatris would risk everything to control. Read more for details & screens ...

'Samurai Warriors' stars the brave Sanada Yukimura, who leads an elite band of samurai and ninja. Sanada's journey will take him to the hallowed Japanese battlefields of Okehazama and Kawanakajima and inside the embattled walls of Osaka Castle where he will come face-to-face with gun-toting troops, echelons of ninja, and deadly kunoichi (female ninja). Read more for details and screens ...

Besieger introduces a world filled with feudal rivalry in which players can wage war as either Viking or Cimmerian warriors. Contenders can build flying vehicles for combat or siege towns on horseback in an effort to conquer factions such as Ogres, Werewolves, Centaurs, and other non-human races. The armored walls of a barricade can be shattered using a battering ram and competitors can pocket enemy buildings and equipment. Players can also retreat and accumulate forces behind their own armored citadel for a counterattack.

Matrix Games and Adanac Command Studies are pleased to announce the imminent release of a new Army-Level Napoleonic Wargame, Campaigns on the Danube 1805 & 1809. Read more for details ...

Firefighter F.D.18 includes realistic simulations of fire, backdrafts, flashovers and chemical explosions. Stepping into the shoes of everyday hero McGregor, players must use their skills to face the raging flames and rescue those in danger.

Lock and load your M-16 and grab your flak jacket, it's time to hit the jungle in Battlefield Vietnam. The Battlefield franchise is moving to a new era equipped with more firepower and beautiful yet ferocious new combat settings. Staying true to the over-the-top, action-packed multiplayer style that gave Battlefield 1942 its critical and commercial success, Battlefield Vietnam will drop players into some of the Vietnam War's fiercest battles.

As most people will know this week's news is mainly dominated by various announcements and revelations at the GDC (Game Developers Conference) in San Jose, CA. Microsoft is showing off various in house productions and we have screens & trailers from the following titles :

• Fable (Xbox) - Screens & Trailer
• Sudeki (Xbox) - Screens & Trailer
• Rise Of Nations: Thrones & Patriots (PC) - Screens & Trailer
• RalliSport Challenge 2 (Xbox) - Screens & Trailer
• Jade Empire (Xbox) - Screens & Trailer

Ubisoft announced today that Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow has shipped for the PC, Xbox, and Game Boy Advance and will be on store shelves nationwide, March 27. Developed by Ubisoft's Shanghai and Annecy studios, Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow tells the conspiracy-ridden story of black-ops agent Sam Fisher as he explores the shadowy world of international espionage.

Wargaming.net releases a new map for its turn-based strategy game Massive Assault. This planet called Brimstone can be used both for World Wars against the A.I. and for the online games. Read more for download links ...

Microsoft Corp. today announced XNA, a powerful next-generation software development platform. XNA empowers developers to deliver breakthrough games while combating rising production costs and ever-increasing hardware complexity. Games for future iterations of all Microsoft game platforms — including Windows, Xbox and Windows Mobile-based devices — will be unleashed by tools and technologies from the XNA development platform.

NCsoft Corporation announces plans to begin open beta testing for its soon to be released online game, Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle. The free open beta period will begin at 12:00 AM Pacific Standard Time on Sunday, March 28 and last approximately one month. The game is scheduled for commercial release on April 28.

Painkiller is a first-person horror shooter, designed to satisfy the gamer's hunger for intense, fast-paced action. You are Painkiller, a mercenary for hire, charged with cleaning out nests of the undead. But an unholy pact with a demon unknowingly puts you square in the middle of a fight for control of the underworld... with the future of humanity hanging in the balance. Read more for 30+ new screens ...

Mythic Entertainment, developer and publisher of the award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game "Dark Age of Camelot," today announced that it will use EMotion FX 2 in all current and future games as the next step in the evolution of the player experience.

Enlight announced today that it will ship TrackMania to retail stores across North America in June. A fast paced track racing game, TrackMania has been praised by reviewers across Europe for its blend of strategy elements with great racing action. Trackmania was shipped to retail stores in Europe before the holidays.

Expanding on its award-winning game soundtrack featuring original music from Snoop Dogg, Westside Connection and other hip-hop stars, Activision Inc. today announced True Crime: Streets of L.A.for the PC will feature 32 additional tracks from artists such as Alice In Chains, Queensryche, and 2004 Grammy Award Nominees Spineshank and Stone Sour. The massive soundtrack will capture the essence of The City of Angels, from the urban vibe of East L.A. to the hard rock streets of Hollywood offering more than 115 music tracks that will immerse players into the mean streets of Los Angeles. True Crime: Streets of L.A. for the PC will be available this spring.

Capcom today announced the release of Onimusha Blade Warriors for the PlayStation2. An action fighting game based on the award winning Onimusha world, Onimusha Blade Warriors challenges players to enter into battle alone, or with up to three other opponents for lighting quick multi-player action battles that show off their skills as a warrior.

Ubisoft is proud to announce today that a multiplayer demo of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow on PC will be available on Thursday, March 25th at 6.00 pm. The MP demo will weigh in at about 60mb, features the Mount Hospital level, playable in Neutralization game mode. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow tells the conspiracy-ridden story of black ops agent Sam Fisher as he explores the shadowy world of international espionage. Read more for details ...

Relic Entertainment has released a new patch for their 3D real-time strategy game Impossible Creatures. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.4 and addresses a few bugs for the main game, the full patch/addon also adds 15 new base insects, 9 new abilities, new environments and multiplayer maps, as well as game balance tweaks. Read more for download links ...

PC Gamer's 10th anniversary edition has the first details and screens from Call Of Duty: United Offensive. Under development at Return to Castle Wolfenstein's Gray Matter Studios, Call Of Duty: United Offensive is the upcoming expansion pack for Infinity Ward/Activision WWII FPS. Along the lines of the the original CoD game, United Offensive will feature three single player campaigns (Battle of the Bulge for the US side, the Battle of Kursk for the Russian side and an unnamed battle for the British side) and is expected to ship this coming fall (thanks Homelan).