Stardock announces preorders are underway for the Dark Avatar expansion for Galactic Civilizations II, their space strategy expansion. Word is those who preorder can participate in the beta test, slated to launch on November 16:

Beta Slots Offered to Players who Pre-Order via TotalGaming.net

Get ready to blast back into space to ward off the evil Korath, as Stardock Entertainment is pleased to announce that the public beta test for Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar, the massive first expansion for the acclaimed space-based strategy game, will begin on November 16. The beta will be open to all players who pre-order the expansion via Stardock’s TotalGaming.net service. Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar can be pre-ordered for just $24.95 or 3 TGN tokens for even greater value; and as with all games on TotalGaming.net, it will ship without intrusive copy protection. Pre-order Dark Avatar at http://totalgaming.stardock.com/games/?id=gc2da.