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European website for The Lord of the Rings Online™: Shadows of Angmar™ goes live with Beta signups.

Codemasters Online Gaming is today pleased to announce the launch of the official European website for The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar at http://www.lotro-europe.com

As an added bonus, Codemasters Online Gaming and Turbine, Inc. have also announced that sign ups for the European and North American Beta Program will also go live today. To sign up for the European Beta Program please go to http://www.lotro-europe.com/beta.

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar European website will be providing content in English, French and German along with localised forums. The striking site, designed to fit within a 1024*768 frame, is a glorious fusion between the bright, rolling hills of the Shire and the dark foreboding wastelands of Angmar.

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar is the first and only MMORPG based on the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien and is currently in development at Turbine’s studios in Westwood, Mass. Codemasters Online Gaming will co-publish (with Turbine) and operate the title across Europe. Language support will include English, French and German.

Ed Blincoe, Product Marketing Manager at Codemasters Online Gaming, commented:
“Launching the website, complete with the opportunity for our community to sign up for the Beta, shows Codemasters’ commitment to The Lord of the Rings Online. This is just the beginning of a concerted effort to make sure people who are excited about the game will be able to get into the Beta and experience the amazing world that Turbine has created.”

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar allows players to discover their heroic destiny in the ongoing struggle for Middle-earth™. Players of all levels can experience and explore incredibly detailed realms and join familiar characters in an evolving and persistent re-creation of the beloved world depicted by Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

Players can adventure solo or forge their own fellowships online with others, as they face hideous monsters and minions of Sauron, fight epic battles to defend Middle-earth, and immerse themselves in the greatest adventure of our time.

For the latest news and images from The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, visit http://www.lotro-europe.com.

Chek out more about Turbine's Lord of the Rings online on Lord of the Rings Online @ Ten Ton Hammer

There are some really nice screenshots of Turbine's upcoming Lord of the Rings Online at Eurogamer for your viewing pleasure.

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It's a famous landmark and now you get to see it through the eyes of the Turbine crew. See the Brandywine Bridge here. and read the lore behind it.

The Bridge of Stonebows, as the Brandywine Bridge was once called, was built originally by the Men of Arnor as a causeway across the Barandúin River on the Great East Road. When the founders of the Shire were granted their land by the king of Arthedain, the price was simple: to maintain and care for the Bridge so that travel into the West would never be impeded. The Hobbits of the Shire performed their duty, even long after the North-kingdom failed, and maintained the great stone bridge, denying none passage, Man, Elf, or Dwarf. Though the river's name was changed to the Brandywine and the bridge itself became the Brandywine Bridge, the Hobbits of the Shire continue to care for and keep watch on the Bridge.

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Er, what I meant to say was the Watching Stone. It's a new bestiary update for you today.

Statues throughout Middle-earth are not always what they seem. The very stone of some statues hold the trapped spirit of malice within, crafted by the Dark Lord long ago with skilled workmanship and dark ritual. These ominous statues act as sentries and alarms within the realm of Angmar and throughout the lands corrupted by the shadow. Within many of the ruins throughout Eriador and Arnor, in lands once controlled by the darkness of Mordor's reach, these watchers remain, ever-vigilant even after centuries of abandonment.

Read it all here.

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