HTC has announced that its upcoming Valve-powered virtual reality headset, Vive VR, will be available for curious consumers to try at eleven venues worldwide in the next six months.

　　In short, the Vive VR headset is going on a world tour, albeit a limited one.

　　The tour began July 9 in San Diego for Comic-Con fans, and includes stops at Dota 2 tournament The International, Gamescom, and PAX Prime in August. You can see the full list of tour stops below.

　　July 9-12, Island St & 6th Ave, San Diego, CA, USAJuly 17-19, Forecastle Festival [Invite Only], Louisville, KY, USAJuly 21-23, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL, USAJuly 25-28, specific location TBD, Kansas City, KS, USAAugust 2-8, The International, Seattle, WA, USAAugust 5-9, Gamescom, Cologne, GermanyAugust 13-16, specific location TBD, San Francisco, CA, USAAugust 20-23, specific location TBD, Portland, OR, USAAugust 28-31, PAX Prime, Seattle, WA, USASeptember 4-9, IFA, Berlin, GermanyOctober 28-November 1, Paris Games Week, Paris, FranceIn a blog post, HTC warned fans that tour dates and locations are subject to change.

　　GameSpot editor Peter Brown tried Vive VR, due to launch to consumers this year for an unspecified price, at the Game Developers Conference in March. He liked what he saw.

　　"It's a great VR headset, but so are the Oculus Rift and Sony Morpheus, which have seen great improvements over the last year," he wrote at the time. "Yet, after my demo during GDC this week, I can say one thing with certainty: Valve has taken the lead in the VR arms race."

　　To see how Vive VR stacks up against Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus, check out this detailed comparison feature.