Itching to play Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (ain't that a mouthful) and didn't get a much coveted beta key? Well, fret not. You might just be able to get a sneak peek into J.R.R. Tolkien's universe before the launch via the World Tour of Middle-earth.

Turbine and Midway Games are getting ready for launch, and decided to give players a treat. They've launched the free World Tour of Middle-earth and they're inviting over one million players to participate. The Tour will begin on April 6 and will run until LotRO's official launch on April 24. The Tour is open only to residents of the US, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia (you'll need to download the game and get a key from Gamespot). European gamers fret not, you can scoot over the Codemasters and try to sign up for beta. And another thing, you can pre-order LotRO: Shadows of Angmar and start adventuring in Middle-earth on March 30.

What's to see there? Well, level cap would be set at level 15 and whatever places are available still remains to be seen. We'll give you more updates regarding Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. Stay tuned.