Mario Kart Wii was announced, featuring online play, new characters, diverse karts and it comes packaged with a wheel accessory.

In their press conference, Nintendo announced Mario Kart Wii, as we previously reported it would.

Once again, the main feature is the online mode, which will cover both normal races and the battle mode, which was missed in Mario Kart DS. Mario Kart Wii has been given a US date of Q1 2008 - no Europe date was given.

Mario Kart Wii mixes the graphical style of Double Dash!! with the karts from Mario Kart DS, with much sharper graphics than Double Dash!!. New to the fray is mid-air spins, which can be seen in the video below.

The tracks are the usual Mario Kart affair - a circuit around Peach's Castle, a massive cavern with warp pipes (and completed with tall mushrooms to bounce on), a new Moo Moo Farm complete with moving cows mid-track, a few "normal" circuits, and what looks like Yoshi Falls from the DS version.

The game will also include various control methods, one new control method will use a custom Wii Wheel, and is built for people new to the franchise. The Remote clips into the Wheel, and the wheel also contains an easy-to-access shoulder button.

Update:Check out these screenshots of the Mario Circuit and Wario's Mines levels

Click for Screens (3 New)