Also on sale in May, the latest issue of Computer Gaming World will preview some of the features that we’ll be showing in greater detail at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (May 14-16), including trade skills, transportation, and the all-new Warlock character class.

We will be updating our World of Warcraft Web site with information about the Night Elves and more soon, so check back often. And, for those curious about when the World of Warcraft beta test will start, we’ve recently added an item to our F.A.Q. about this.

This screen shot is from the latest release candidate for the 1.10 patch of Diablo II that is currently being run through our QA testing procedure. Although we do not have a release date set for this patch, we are working hard to get it out as soon as possible.

• The identified beta accounts have been permanently closed.
• The beta CD keys and Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos CD keys associated with these accounts have been permanently banned from the beta realms (if two players shared a beta CD key and one cheated, both players were effectively banned).
• Any additional CD keys that had been used to access Battle.net along with the banned keys mentioned above have also been banned from the beta realms. For instance, if the beta was installed with two different copies of Reign of Chaos, the beta CD key and the CD keys for BOTH copies of Reign of Chaos have been banned.

Once the contest has officially ended tomorrow, we will begin judging the maps and will announce the winners in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned to www.blizzard.com for all the details and Good Luck!

Numerous additional accounts and CD keys were tied to the use of a hack or cheat program while playing Warcraft III or Diablo II on Battle.net. In keeping with our aggressive stance against hacks and cheats, we have permanently closed over 12,000 Warcraft III accounts and over 131,000 Diablo II accounts. We have also banned over 7,000 CD keys from ladder play for one month and banned over 1,000 Warcraft III CD keys from ladder play permanently. Please note that repeat offenders risk having their CD keys disabled, which results in permanent removal from Battle.net for their copies of Warcraft III or Diablo II.

We continue to monitor the Warcraft III and Diablo II realms for malicious players. We regret having to employ these extreme measures; however, certain unscrupulous players have impaired the game play of the Warcraft III and Diablo II communities as a whole, and severe action continues to be warranted and required. We would also like to reassure everyone that a false report filed by one player against another will not result in the actions described above.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter. If you would like to report additional instances of hacking or cheating, please contact us at hacks@blizzard.com. Thank you again for your continued support.