History is made as Nintendo officially goes online with the DS and Mario Kart launches! In America, anyway. Just ten days to go for Europe!

Yesterday Mario Kart DS launched in the States as the first title to utilise the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Players can now compete with other gamers worldwide in titles such as Mario Kart DS, Tony Hawks' American Sk8land and the upcoming Metroid Prime: Hunters and Animal Crossing: Wild World.

When racing using a wireless local area connection, up to eight players can compete against each other in Mario Kart, even if only one of them has a Mario Kart DS game card. When using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, up to four players across the world can join a race. Friends share their DS Friend Code to find one another online using their friend roster.

"Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection removes the barriers that have prevented many mainstream players from going online," says Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales & marketing. "We have made the service incredibly simple to use and free at select hotspot locations � but this is just the beginning."

Indeed it is, as the Wi-Fi Connection will be Nintendo's online service for the Revolution as well, though details of that system's online capabilities are still being kept under wraps.

For Europe there is just ten days until Friday 25th November when Mario Kart DS hits the shops, and gamers can join their American counterparts on the Wi-Fi Connection. Stick with Revolution-Europe during this exciting time - we've got a specially themed week in the works to celebrate this big occaison!