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Greg Laabs of 2K Games posted the following message in our forums:
(Also check out the Civ World walkthrough video here)

Hey guys!

Long time reader first time poster.

As you might already know, CivWorld will be entering Closed Beta any day now, and when that happens we'll be letting in large swaths of people who previously signed up for the alpha.

I'm coming here to let you guys know that those of you who already signed up under the team name "Apolyton Diplogamers" are going to be in the first wave let in to the beta. Furthermore, those of you who haven't signed up yet can still do so ( http://2kgames.com/civworld/alpha ) using the team name "Apolyton" (captain doesn't matter) and then reply to this thread letting me know that you did and we'll let you in as well.

This will only work for a limited number of people so be sure to sign up sooner rather than later to guarantee your beta spot....

Sid's Meier own new Civ Baby, Civ:World has just received a new name and some form of a re-launch! The game formerly known as "Civilization:Network" is a Facebook game designed by Sid Meier himself with a team at Firaxis. "I’m having a really fun time hands-on designing and programming Civ World along with our terrific team at Firaxis." Sid Meier writes in the official re-launch message. Last year Sid announced this game personally here at Apolyton in a very enthousiastic way. In the weeks that followed many updates were made and anticipation ws rising. But then a long period of silence followed. Till today! A new announcement has been made which includes more about what the game will be like:

"in Civ World you will be joining your friends to form nations, which will compete with other player-nations to rule the world.(...) Civ World games will have a well-defined beginning and end, each ending with a triumphant civilization and one person recognized as that game’s most prestigious player. (...) The trophies you unlock with your triumphs will carry over from game to game, and you can show them off in your throne room." Meier says.

More gameplay updates will follow in the coming months.
For now Firaxis is looking for Alpha Testers. Teams can sign up in groups of 5-50 players. Simply go to the Alpha signup form at 2K. There connect with your facebook account and share your team details. The Alpha test starts on January 12th. Anybody willing to be the captain of the Official Apolyton Team, please send a PM to Robert Plomp. (We can't guarantee of course that the Apolyton Team will be let in the Alpha Test, that's in the hands of Sid.)

Read Sid Meier's official update on the game right here on facebook.
Thanks to OzzyKP for the heads up!

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For a long time we didn't hear anything about Civilization: Network, but now joystiq.com reveals that the game will arrive in 2011 on facebook!
Strauss Zelnick, Executive Chairman of 2K, even says: "relatively soon."

Civilization: Network is a social network game that will be released on facebook. It is being developed by Sid Meier himself! It was first announced more then one year ago and promised a closed beta to start 'very soon'. Apparently the focus then moved to Civilization V.

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