Raise your hand if you consider yourself an Internet addict. Go ahead, no one here will judge you. (How could we: all of us are online at least 12 hours per day.) The thing is, if you feel like your addiction actually represents a legitimate problem, fear not, for a new “detox” center, reStart Internet Addiction Recovery Program, has opened near Seattle. It’s the first of its kind in the U.S., and it will “help internet and video game addicts overcome their dependence on gaming, gambling, chatting, texting and other aspects of Internet Addiction.”

World of Warcraft players will soon have yet another way to keep up-to-date with the game’s many complexities. Yes, there will be a World of Warcraft magazine. (That’s what Blizzard just told us, but the Web site won’t be live till Friday.) It’s the result of a partnership between Blizzard and Future, the same company that publishes the likes of Edge, PC Gamer, and Nintendo Power.

This could be the most important week in the history of Creation. Blizzcon starts on Friday—once again Blizzard reminded me in an e-mail that I can purchase the Web stream or DirecTV pay-per-view for $40—and we’re sure to be hanging on the company’s every word re: World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Today’s hot news is that Creative will release a World of Warcraft-branded headset in November. Look for it around $100-$150.

While I haven’t logged into World of WarCraft since, I don’t know, February (for the Valentines Day things), a new expansion should bring me back into the fold. Most fans know that Blizzard trademarked the name “Cataclysm,” and that’s what we expect the name of the next expansion to be. But now! Now, friends, wow.com’s sources have pretty much confirmed two new races for the expansion. Say hello, probably, to the Worgen (Alliance) and the Goblin (Horde).

Rest easy, friends, since the World of Warcraft-in-China saga has come to an end. Yes, the game is now up and running once again. Unfortunately, I guess, there’s a bit of censorship to contend with.

This could well be the biggest news on Planet Earth today. World of Warcraft is coming back to China, nearly two months after having been knocked offline because of a content dispute. Fox News Alert!

Nope, not health care. Nope, not the recession. My white whale is the status of World of Warcraft in China. No, the game isn’t banned, per se, but Blizzard is having a hell of a time getting it back online. After switching to a new local operator, NetEase, Blizzard had to re-submit the game to the Powers That Be. Apparently you need government approval to run online games over there. And the Chinese government has a few problems with the game.

Just to clarify, World of Warcraft is not banned in China. Repeat: World of Warcraft is not banned. Keep on gold farmin’, kids. Silly rumors.

There’s currently a 144-page thread on the official World of Warcraft message board discussing this latest earth-shattering news: you’ll soon be able to take your Horde character and transform him to the closet Alliance equivalent, and vice-versa. So, for example, taking your Orc Warrior and changing him into a Human Warrior. And then cats and dogs will break bread with each other.

A bit of World of Warcraftnews for you this Thursday afternoon. If given the chance, how many of you would play the game on your Xbox 360 or PS3? It doesn’t even matter, as Blizzard’s executive vice-president of game design, Rob Pardo, said that producing a console version of the game would run into a whole host of challenges that would need to be overcome. Chief among them: an input device. Do you go create a specially designed WoW controller, or leave it up to people to bring their own mouse and keyboard?

Someone got all the way to level 80 in World of Warcraft without dying. It’s quite the achievement (although not an actual Blizzard Achievement.)

Okay, this is one of the better “gadgets” I’ve yet seen. It’s called the WoWPod, and it’s a self-sufficient tiny room for World of Warcraft players. Easy-to-reach food and water, built-in toilet, no annoying people distracting you, etc. It’s probably the closest thing to Heaven that a certain section of our society will ever encounter.

It’s time for Blizzcon again. Yes, Blizzard’s annual pilgrimage-for-so-so-many returns this August, but tickets for the show itself go on sale on May 16. And this year there’s an Internet stream you can watch! That’s good news for those of you who cannot (or do not want) to travel to Anaheim and dole out the $125 per ticket.

Jesus, Mary, Joseph! We fleetingly mentioned those Tax Day Tea Parties yesterday, but this is too much. That’s right: Tea Parties in Second Life, the game that, um, is still popular? (Not a lot of buzz about it these days, I mean to say.) Anyway, here’s a few photos of the in-game protest about in-real-life issues. Because that’s how minds are changed, in online video games. Or don’t you remember the Republican National Convention in Stormwind last year?

Friday being what it is and all (read: a complete waste of time), here’s something that, while utterly pointless, may put a smile on your face. (It may put a frown on your face, too, depending on your persuasion.) Yes, it’s a proper World of Warcraft mask, made of genuine latex, a wondrous compound that has been bringing man joy for some time now.

Attention Facebook users! SteelSeries is giving away a boss drop sized bunch of loot. And while you might not get a set piece out of it, it’s still some really damn nice stuff. And you won’t have to listen to the hunters whine about how nothing ever drops for them to use.

How I missed this, I have no idea. (Actually, I was at SXSW, that’s how I missed it.) Eurogamer, which is always good for a “think piece” or two, is running an exposé on gold farming, a term used to describe the buying and selling of in-game currencies (and items) in games like World of Warcraft. It’s a four-parter, and part two was just published today. Headline there: there are approximately 1 million gold farmers in China alone. Subhead: conservative estimates put the gold farming industry at $2 billion USD. Yes, that’s billion with a “b.” That’s officially insane.

You’re Blizzard. You develop a little game called Word of Warcraft. You move into a new office building—a sign of your importance—and want to commemorate said action. You hire the dudes responsible for the Lord of the Rings special effects, and tell them, “Make us a big statue of an Orc on his mount, looking sinister.” And they do.

So here’s a weird question for y’all: what happens when you die? More specifically, what happens to the “online version” of you? Will your World of Warcraft guild hold a funeral for you, one that’s promptly invaded by a bunch of rival faction jerks? Will there be a Facebook “We miss you, man” group? Does anyone in your life have the password to you Gmail account, should you need to contact your contacts? “Remember Bill? Yeah, he doesn’t live here anymore.”

From the frivolous lawsuit department: The folks behind Worlds.com are looking to sue the likes of World of Warcraft and Second Life for infringing on one of their longstanding patents that covers “virtual worlds” or somesuch. While that may seem pretty ludicrous, keep in mind that a similar lawsuits, against City of Heroes‘ NCSoft, was filed in a plaintiff-friendly district in Texas. Best case scenario for the Worlds.com folks is that Activision Blizzard and Co. have to license “virtual worlds” as an already-patented concept from them, which would means serious money.