Those of you eagerly awaiting the release of "World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade" will have to wait a while longer... Blizzard Entertainment has announced a delay in its release.

The highly anticipated expansion to 'World of Warcraft' was slated for a late 2006 launch. However, post Blizzard's announcement, it looks like the game expansion will be released in January 2007. The company says the extra time will enable them to extend the closed beta test, as also further refine the content to ship with the game.

Commenting on the extra time, Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder, Blizzard Entertainment, said, "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 has begun the closed beta phase of testing for World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade earlier this month. The company says the January 2007 release will give current beta testers extra time to participate in the final stages of development, while continuing to provide valuable feedback.

However, Blizzard has not yet revealed the exact release date or the pricing for the game expansion.

"World of Warcraft," an online multiplayer game since its launch in November 2004, has become a massive hit in the gaming community, with reportedly more than 7 million subscribers globally.