Not to be out done by the recent flurry of convention announcements, The Blizzard World Wide Invitational 2008 is throwing out an announcement or two of its own. Today, they are officially announcing a Machinma contest. There will be two categories, one for movies, and one for TV Commercials for WoW items. Online submission is open from June 9th to June 16th. You can check out the contest details (Including the prizes, of course) here.

If Machinima isn't your thing, but you're still creative in other arenas, the announcement also mentions that they will reveal more contests in the near future.

At the moment, the official terms suggest that the contest is open only to Europeans, but if that pans out, I'm certain American Machinimists will get a crack at things at Blizzcon 2008.

The official press release should appear soon on the Paris GDC site.

The Paris GDC will be taking place a few days before Blizzard's World Wide Invitational in the same city. We're expecting a lot of choice WoTLK news to drop there, but certainly, Pardo may say something juicy ahead of time at the Paris GDC, and we'll be sure to find out if he does.

Yeah, it's called the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational, but the more we learn about this Blizzard-hosted gathering, the more it starts looking a bit more like Blizzcon '08. Sure, there's all the tournaments you'd expect, but there's a lot more too. We've already talked about the goody bag, but there's one thing that jumps right off the events page for anyone who's starved for WoTLK news: live discussion panels with Blizzard developers! Says the site, "developers will be discussing such topics as gameplay, lore and art and giving the audience a chance to pose questions and give comments."

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? It also sounds very promising. We got a lot of pretty juicy WoTLK information from the last round of developer panels at Blizzcon, so we can probably expect more of the same at these panels, only moreso, since we'll be that much closer to the release of the expansion. It looks like June 28th and 29th are going to be very good days to be a Blizzard fan. Even if you can't make it to France, be sure keep an eye on WoW Insider. We're sure to have the all the great WoW Information that's sure to come from these panels.

Preparations for the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational are in full swing. Tickets are on sale for the event, which will take place on June 28th and 29th in Paris, France. Of course, your ticket gives you access to both days, but what Blizzard event ticket wouldn't be complete without a good old fashioned goody bag? Blizzard goody bags usually contains some pretty awesome swag (check out the contents of the Blizzcon '07 goody bag if you need a refresher), and it looks like this bag won't be any different.

So far, Blizzard has revealed that you can expect to find a beta key for an upcoming Blizzard game and an exclusive in-game pet for the World of Warcraft in your bag. There's no word on which game the beta will be, which makes me wonder if it might even be an as yet unannounced title. After all, They've told us that Starcraft 2 and Wrath of the Lich King will be playable at the event, so it might be a bit late to hand out beta keys for those games. Then again, perhaps I'm just really, really wishing for a new Diablo game. They're keeping mum on the identity of the in-game pet so far as well. We've already had 2 Murloc-related rewards from the Blizzcons, so with Wrath of the Lich King coming out, perhaps we'll see a pet Gorloc. Then again, Murlocs might be a little played out, so I'm going to root for a penguin, I think. Blizzard's promised to reveal more about the contents of the goody bag as the date of the Invitational draws nearer, so hopefully we'll have more news for you on that front soon.

Of course, if the goody bag alone isn't quite enough, Blizzard's promised that there will be exclusive commemorative swag to win in contests or buy at the event as well, just like at last year's Blizzcon. Be sure to keep your browser tuned right here to WoW Insider, we'll let you in on all future loot announcements and all the Worldwide Invitational news as it happens.

Tickets for the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational, being held this year in Paris, France, are now on sale according to the official website. The event, taking place on June 28th and 29th, promises to be a big one. Not only will there be invitational tournaments, but you can expect developer panels, auctions, loot galore, and the thing we're most looking forward, playable versions of Wrath of the Lich King and Starcraft 2.

If you have any chance of being able to make it out to the City of Lights this summer, we'd strongly recommend buying a ticket, it sounds like it's going to be a blast for Blizzard fans, whether competitive tournament play is your thing or not. We'd also recommend staying tuned to WoW Insider for all the latest information on this event and the Wrath of the Lich King expansion!