Infogrames has announced that its latest turn-based strategy game, Sid Meier's Civilization III, is shipping to stores this week. The game is the next installment in the popular Civilization strategy game series, which has sold more than 4 million games since its introduction in 1991. Civilization III features a number of new features and improvements on the previous games, including better graphics, 3D animation, enhanced combat and diplomacy options, and additional paths to victory. Civilization III was created by Firaxis Games, the game studio headed by Sid Meier, the creator of the Civilization series.

　　"I felt that technology and game design had advanced to the point where I could give form to the vision I've had for Civilization for some time," Meier said. "The game has always been called 'Civilization,' but the most common path to victory was war--hardly a very civilized activity. With the power of modern systems we can better model aspects like trade, culture, and diplomacy and make them viable paths to victory too. This makes the gameplay much more dynamic and varied."

　　Civilization III is now available in many stores for an approximate retail price of $49.99. A special limited edition of the game is also available for $59.99. A Macintosh version of the game is scheduled for release in March 2002. For more information, take a look at our in-depth preview coverage of the game, and look for our full review of the game coming later today.