Blizzard Entertainment says World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm), the third expansion for the subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, will be released starting on December 7.

The expansion will be available on DVD-ROM for Mac OS X and Window at a suggested retail price of US$39.99 and will also be offered as a digital download from the Blizzard Store. A special Collector’s Edition packed with bonus items will be available exclusively in retail stores for a suggested retail price of $79.99.

Here’s how the expansion pack is described: “In Cataclysm, the face of Azeroth will be forever altered by the return of the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing. Players will explore once-familiar areas of the world that have now been reshaped by the devastation and filled with new adventures. In an effort to survive the planet-shattering cataclysm, two new playable races — worgen and goblins — will join the struggle between the Alliance and the Horde.

“As players journey to the new level cap of 85, they’ll discover newly revealed locations, acquire new levels of power, and come face to face with Deathwing in a battle to determine the fate of the world.”