Codemasters announce that FUEL is now available in North America for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, with the new racing game from Asobo Studios set to take the green flag in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) territories on Thursday and in the UK on Friday. A batch of new screenshots accompany the announcement, and the FUEL Website features a new video that "showcases the diverse locations, beautiful scenery and freedom to explore which up to 16 players can enjoy in FUEL's stunning game world." Here's word on the game:

FUEL offers an astounding 5,560 square miles playground which is fully open to race and explore. Based on satellite data from the United States, wildly diverse terrain from the snow-capped Mount Rainier to the arid Grand Canyon and everything in between create an atmospheric, epic racing sandbox. With a 70+ strong vehicle line up, including bikes, buggies, quads, cars, roadsters, trucks and even a hovercraft, gamers experience unprecedented choice in choosing tactical routes on-the-fly, on or off-road. The wide vehicle roster is perfect for taking on hundreds of exhilarating arcade events, from large-scale raid challenges to tight circuit races, available in FUEL’s career mode.

Extensive multiplayer options allow up to 16 players to discover FUEL’s world in free ride or compete in thrilling head-to-head races. Gamers can also unleash their creativity by using the powerful yet intuitive race editor to create events set anywhere in FUEL’s environment and share them online.