The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar Open Beta World Tour offers the chance to sample the open beta of Turbine's coming Lord of the Rings MMORPG for over two weeks before the game goes live. Word is they are inviting over a million players to sample what the game has to offer beginning on April 6, allowing them to progress up to level 15 between then and the official launch on April 24. Word is:

"We decided to launch the World Tour of Middle-earth because of the overwhelming demand from players to get into the closed beta," said Jeffrey Anderson, President and CEO of Turbine, Inc. "We expect the World Tour of Middle-earth to be a spectacular event like nothing that you've ever seen before."

Free access to this hotly anticipated game combined with the staggering size and scale of the World Tour of Middle-earth make this an unprecedented event in the MMO industry. Players can pre-order the game at select retail stores nationwide or at www.lotro.com/preorder and start their adventures in Middle-earth beginning on March 30th.