Sierra Entertainment To Use Popular Xfire Gaming Platform in Empire Earth II

Xfire, Inc., the most complete, all-in-one PC gaming application in the world, and Sierra® Entertainment have agreed to incorporate the Xfire online gaming platform into Empire Earth® II: The Art of Supremacy, the first expansion pack to 2005's award winning RTS, Empire Earth II. Implementing Xfire's technology alongside Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy will provide players a more complete online gaming experience using Xfire's unique friend tracking, in-game messaging, and group voice communication features.

Under the agreement, the Xfire application will be bundled with the retail version of Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy. Using Xfire, Empire Earth II players can keep track of when their friends are online, send and receive messages while playing games, and also communicate with one another using Xfire's group voice chat feature.

Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy returns gamers to the front lines of the greatest battles in history with new civilizations at their command, new campaigns and a host of new features. The game is now available at retailers worldwide.

"The competitive online play in Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy stands above the rest," said Peter Della Penna, Executive Vice President and COO, World Studios for Vivendi Universal Games. "It would have been impossible to create the same experience without the seamless in-game messaging and group chat features that Xfire delivers."

Xfire CEO Mike Cassidy commented, "We're excited to partner with VU Games to make the online gaming experience more enjoyable for their users while increasing VU Games' presence within Xfire's more than 3 million registered gamer community."

Xfire also makes online gaming easier for users by showing them when their friends are online, revealing what games their friends are playing, and enabling them to join their friends with one click. Xfire is also the only instant-messaging application that allows users to send and receive messages while playing many PC games without having to minimize or Alt-tab out of the game. Other Xfire features include file downloads, stats tracking, and voice chat.

To download Xfire for free please visit www.xfire.com.