The StarCraft II Website announces plans to bring the ability to play against players around the world in StarCraft II, Blizzard's RTS (it's like a global Internet or something!). This will take a while, though, as they say the patch to add this feature is due "in the coming months." Here's what this will provide:

Global Play will give you access to StarCraft II game servers in regions outside your own, expanding the possibilities for eSports, exposing you to maps and games that aren’t yet published everywhere, and making it easy to play with your friends in other parts of the world. Each region will have separate profile data, meaning that characters, profiles, ladder rankings, progress, and friends lists will not carry over from region to region. With Global Play, you’ll have other regions to choose from as you create new characters, take on different ladder opponents, and perhaps try maps that you’ve never seen before.

More about Global Play:

• Players will be able to freely switch between regions via the StarCraft II login screen.
• When your region’s game servers are undergoing maintenance, you may be able to play in a different region that is not down for maintenance.
• Your game language and user interface will not change when you change regions.
• Players using Global Play will be subject to the in-game policies of their selected play region.

We’ll have more details soon, including answers to your most frequently asked questions about Global Play.