We Northern Americans may still be sitting on a Spring 2008 release date for Mario Kart Wii, but our European brethren will be karting their overalls off come Aprill 11. In anticipation of the Wii racer's online debut, the boys and girls in the European marketing department have given their customers a Mario Kart Wii online primer, talking up twelve-player over-the-internet races and cool options like "ghost" data downloads.

They even provide a bit of insight into the Mario Kart Channel, which will allow Kart fans to access info on rankings and competitions as well as enjoy the thrill of inputting friend codes. Like Wii Fit, the dedicated game channel doesn't require the Mario Kart Wii disc to be in the system. The only thing that might impress us more is a proper ship date from Nintendo of America.

Going global with Mario Kart Wii [Nintendo UK]