The Ubisoft Forums announce the availability of a playable demo for The Settlers 7, the next installment in the long-running strategy management series (thanks Xirix). The 2.6 GB download is on German website Pfanni, but word is it is a multilanguage demo, and a mirror of the demo is now available on AtomicGamer, FileFront, Fileplay, Gamer's Hell, and WorthPlaying. On a semi-related note, the Mac edition of the gam is now available for preorder from Macgamestore, which will come with a free copy of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence. A set of system requirements accompany the demo, which are clearly for the full game, including mention that Ubi's DRM requiring a persistent online connection is present in both the game and the demo. We've run the specs through Google Translate and posted them below.

System Requirements for "The Settlers 7"
Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (all 32/64 bit)

• Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2GHz or better, AMD XP 2600 + (Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon 64 X2)
• RAM: 2 GB (4 GB)
• Video Card: 256 MB DirectX 9c (512 MB DirectX 9c)
• Sound Card: DirectX 9c
• DVD - ROM: DVD 8x (DVD 24x), needs only to install
• DirectX: 9c included on disk
• Required disk space: 8 GB
• Peripherals: Mouse, keyboard
• Single player mode: 33.6 kbit / s upstream (33.6 kbit / s upstream)
• Multiplayer mode: 128 kbit / s upstream (128 kbit / s upstream)
• Supported video cards:

1 .NVIDIA GeForce desktop and mobile series

1. 7900, 7950
2. 8400, 8500, 8600, 8800
3. 9300, 9400, 9500, 9800
4. G 105, G 110, GT 120, GT 130, GTS 150, GTS 160
5. G 210, GT 220, GT 230, GT 240, GTS 250, GTX 260, GTX 280, GTX 285, GTX 295
6. G 305, G 310, GT 325, GT 330, GT 335, GTS 350, GTS 360

2. Desktop and mobile ATI Radeon series

1. X1900, X1950
2. HD 2300, HD 2350, HD 2400, HD 2600, HD 2700, HD 2900
3. 3000, 3100, HD 3200, HD 3410, HD 3430, HD 3450, HD 3470, HD 3650, HD 3670, HD 3850, HD 3690, HD 3830, HD 3850, HD 3870
4. HD 4200, HD 4330, HD 4350, HD 4530, HD 4550, HD 4570, HD 4650, HD 4670, HD 4730, HD 4770, HD 4830, HD 4850, HD 4860, HD 4870, HD 4890
5. HD 5430, HD 5450, HD 5470, HD 5570, HD 5650, HD 5670, HD 5730, HD 5750, HD 5770, HD 5830, HD 5850, HD 5870, HD 5970

• Digital Rights Management: Yes
• Uplay support: Yes
• Are there any unlockable content Uplay unique keys needed? Yes
• DVD
• 1 disk
• My Internet connection: Yes, requires a permanent online connection (also valid for the demo!)
• Service: Ubisoft Support
• Serial product activation code required
• No downloadable music
• Dolby Digital: Not Supported