Tickets to Blizzard’s BlizzCon 2007 are already sold out, and that’s with the company still holding back on announcing some extra goodies participants will be receiving. Swag, a beta key to an upcoming game, and an in-game murloc suit have already been announced, but those goodies seem to only be the beginning.

All BlizzCon 2007 participants will also be receiving the original Warcraft game along with an all new expansion for the game that will not be released to the public. 100 randomly selected attendees will be getting an autographed advanced copy of a DVD containing a compilation of all cutscenes from every Warcraft game that’s been released as well as over a dozen scenes never before seen by the public. The DVD is expected to hit stores in time for this year’s holiday season.

While many have been speculating that the beta key will be to the recently announced Starcraft 2, it has been leaked that the beta invitation will actually be to a Tower Defense flash game that Blizzard plans on releasing to the public later this year. Blizzard hopes to capitalize on the latest flash game sensation. With flash games like Desktop Tower Defense, Flash Element TD, and Onslaught demonstrating the popularity of Tower Defense games, Blizzard hopes that they’ll be able to corner the market by utilizing their vast gaming resources.

Even with all the above goodies being planned for the convention, Blizzard’s sure to have at least one or two more big surprises in store for us all.

Tags: BlizzCon 2007, Warcraft

Jessica Alba’s gaming interview not only helped her seem more down to earth, it also pushed her up a few notches in the minds of gaming geeks everywhere. It didn’t take long for other celebrities to jump on the tech geek bandwagon as movie, television, music, and sports celebs are all setting up interviews and sending out press releases talking about their own tech-related hobbies and interests.

Brad Pitt has revealed that XBox 360 game Viva Pinata is his favorite game and that he plays nearly 20 hours a week. He’s also admitted that the Mousemallow is his favorite pinata and that he’s sacrificed much of his garden to keep them alive and thriving.

Charlize Theron’s agent sent out a press release detailing Theron’s obsession with World of Warcraft. Apparently she’s been playing since the initial beta and has been playing under an alias (and refuses to let anyone know her name or the server she plays on) so that she won’t get mobbed by fans in-game. She does reveal that her main character is a level 70 undead warlock and she has an alt that’s a level 56 rogue gnome. The press release went on to describe Theron’s passion for PvP and also her recent dabbling with in-game role playing.

Sean Connery’s gaming addiction is with the popular casual game Bejeweled. He’s even admitted that his love of the game had a partial hand in his retirement from acting. He’s currently going to therapy to try and bring his playing time down to a reasonable level.

Child star Dakota Fanning has admitted she’s a big fan of the Halo series. Currently spending most of her gaming time with Halo 2, she’s also recently participated in the Halo 3 beta and says that she’s eager to play the final product. She has also confessed having an obsession with XBox 360 achievements and has been known to talk trash online during heated Halo matches.

Tags: Jessica Alba, Dakota Fanning, Sean Connery, Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron

With the 2007 Webby Awards announced, the 2008 format is already being worked on. With so many genres of sites being created and popularized, it has been revealed that there will be 142 new categories added to next year’s roster (this year there were less than 70). 5 of those new categories have already been confirmed:

• Fansites - Every television show, movie, and musician seems to have at least a dozen or so popular fansites - often in the form of a blog. These sites will have their own category next year, each broken into their own genre (music, television, movie, actor/actress, etc.).
• MySpace - As much as we may fight it, MySpace is a Web phenomenon that’s not going away anytime soon. There will be at least 3 separate categories for MySpace alone (profile, blog, friends).
• Web comic - Web comics are continually gaining fans, so next year those same fans will be able to vote for their favorites.
• Flash games - The surge of flash game sites has created the need for a Webby category to honor the best of the best. The award will be awarded to the best flash game site as a whole, not to an individual flash game.
• Porn - Probably the most controversial new category, but also likely to be the most popular. Webby reps are quick to point out not only the popularity of porn sites, but their overall impact on the Web as a whole.

News of Congress pushing internet tax leglislation has many Web surfers scared - and with good reason. Not only are “standard” taxes being proposed, such as sales tax on Web shopping, more extreme taxes are also being considered. Below is a list of confirmed internet taxing ideas Congress will be considering over the next few months.

• Sales tax on internet shopping.
• Monthly taxes on DSL and other connections.
• Streaming audio and video tax (per minute).
• Download tax on all files with higher fees based on file size and type.
• Search engine tax (per result).
• Image display tax.
• Form submission tax.
• Email tax.
• Instant messaging tax.
• Page view tax.

Not surprisingly, many frequent Web surfers are up in arms. Many Web-based businesses such as Google, Amazon, and Yahoo! have voiced their concerns that the new legislation would severly harm their dealings on the Web. Most brick and mortar shops are backing the new legislation claiming it will level the playing field and will only put restrictions on Web-based businesses that are already on non Web-based businesses.

Tags: Internet taxes, email tax, Net sales tax

Eager to expand it’s online rental dominance to other markets, Netflix has announced a new service called NetChix that will bring their rental expertise to the escort and prostitution world.

With the project currently slated for an end of 2007 release, Netflix hopes to capitalize on all the lonely souls out there for the holiday season. Netflix expects to gain many new customers who will be looking for family gathering dates, holiday party arm candy, or merely some companionship during what would otherwise be a lonely holiday season.

Hoping to avoid legal troubles, NetChix will not offer it’s prostitution services for states and cities where laws prohibit such activities. They will still offer platonic escorting services to those areas even though many fear the “planotic services” will end up being full on prostitution.

Many groups have come out in protest to the newly announced NetChix. Legal action is currently not an option as courts have already dismissed two cases against the service and have released a statement confirming the legality of the current plan for NetChix. Fearing loss of business, local pimps and hoes have started a lobby group they hope will stir up new legislation banning web-based escort and prostitution.

Tags: Netflix, escorts, prostitution