Blizzard have today announced that the upcoming and eagerly awaited World of Warcraft expansion pack The Burning Crusade will now ship a few weeks later than planned in January 2007, this means that the beta will be extended to allow for further tweaks.

"We appreciate the enthusiasm surrounding World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, and we're excited about putting the finishing touches on all of the new content," said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We feel confident that the extra time spent polishing the game will result in the high-quality experience that our players expect and deserve."

Blizzard began the closed-beta phase of testing on World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade earlier this month. The January 2007 release window will allow extra time for current beta testers