Blizzard announced proudly to launch World of Warcraft Open Beta very soon.  Although not all expected features may be included in the commercial version, Blizzard promises to keep working on their past announced features and to keep adding content.  Open Beta will start in USA in a few weeks or days.  There is no date specified, but knowing Blizzard’s past experiences, they do not make such announcements unless they are convinced they are ready.  Blizzard cares to not make the same mistakes of the past when giving deadlines.  The past months, concerning World of Warcraft, has been hectic when giving out dates; but when something is announced it doesn’t take long before the announcement is carried out.  Expect an open beta sooner than you may think:

Blizzard:
“We are happy to announce that we will soon be accepting applicants for the World of Warcraft? Open Beta Test for North America. The open phase of beta will give people a chance to enter Azeroth and play World of Warcraft before the game is released. More details will become available in the days ahead, so stay tuned.”