SOE and The Topps Company have combined forces to create a Free Realms trading card game. The physical TCG will work in conjunction with the digital TCG in-game. There's some colorful artwork from the card game in our screenshots gallery.

The digital version of the Free Realms Trading Card Game launches simultaneously with the launch of the Free Realms online game, while the Topps products will be available in Spring 2009. Topps will offer an exclusive Passport to Free Realms Starter Pack jam-packed with Free Realms physical and digital loot (price TBD), as well as 11-card booster packs ($3.99 SRP each), featuring a loot card in every pack, wherever Topps entertainment products are sold.

Every pack will have a loot card that will be good for an item in the game, from pets and clothing to wands and special character effects. When you visit the Free Realms Web site to register for the beta, check out the TCG page for more information. Also, the full press release is below.

Just last week I wrote a quick preview of Free Realms and today the website, including beta registration, went live! Maybe I should write a preview of Star Wars: The Old Repbulic next!

It's easy to sign up for the Free Realms beta! All you have to do is register. You can find registration information at www.freerealms.com. Once you register, keep an eye on your (or your parent's) e-mail for a beta acceptance letter that will have a link that lets you log-in to Free Realms for the first time!

We'll start our beta testing slowly. After all, we're going to be fixing problems as people find them, and that can take a little time. If you register as a beta tester and you don't get accepted right away, don't worry! We'll be adding LOTS of beta testers over time, so you'll get your chance.

The site is cute, lively, and honestly, the videos are a little loud, but otherwise I'm so excited I could just cancel all my MMO subscriptions and stare at my inbox awaiting my beta invite until the game launches!

This one is gonna be fun folks! Don't miss out!

MMO Portal has put together its 2009 MMO Calendar featuring autographed artwork from numerous games. The list includes Age of Conan, DC Universe Online, Dofus, EVE Online, EverQuest II, Free Realms, Guild Wars, Pirates of the Burning Sea, RuneScape, The Agency, Warhammer Online and World of Warcraft.

All of the proceeds go directly to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which treats children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.

Also, everyone who purchases a calendar will be entered to win one of 10 prizes for each game, including boxed copies, premium accounts, 30- and 60-day passes, closed beta accounts and more. More information can be found here.

Adult MMOers often show prejudice for anything that doesn't appeal to them. Obviously, not all games are appropriate for everyone, but that doesn't mean they don't have merit. So, when I took another look at Free Realms from Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) recently, I was surprised to find just how broadly appealing their free to play (F2P) MMO is working out to be.

We've covered Free Realms a few times here at Allakhazam, and I've been excited about it since I first heard the premise. Of course, I get excited about everything, so that shouldn't be a surprise.

One of the first things that sets Free Realms apart from other SOE MMOs is the low barrier to entry. They are designing the game to download while you create your character in a Flash application. By the time you've finished creating the character, the game has loaded and you're on your way to playing with no installation hassles or long patch times.

In addition, the developers are aiming to make the game compatible with GeForce 3 video cards, a series released in 2001. It's safe to say just about everyone should be able to access the game with this requirement.

The stylized graphics are, and I hate to use this word, down right cute. The world gives off a carefree and fun vibe. There's nothing I've seen in this world that gives the idea of being overwhelming or out of style! The whole visual feel is truly uplifting.

The Official SOE Podcast #47 is live and has an interview with Free Realms' newest designer Julie Burness, who is also a former Vanguard community representative. To download it, visit the official Podcast page . For more information, check out this post on EQ2 Players.

We also feature an interview with members of our Usability Lab team. And don't miss out on the Top 10 list created by our listeners. Make sure you tune in to the very end for Inside SOE, a mini-interview with the Free Realms Brand Manager.

So listen in! You can get your Podcast goodness two different ways: head over to the Podcast’s official site , and click on your preferred bandwidth, or if you have iTunes installed, select iTunes Store, type SOE into the search box and click Subscribe! Your feedback is always welcome either on the Station forums or via email .