Looking for a chance to show off your Pac-Man skills? You’ll soon have your chance, Namco and Xbox Live are holding a contest starting next week to see who the world champion of Pac-Man really is. If you don’t have skills, there’s no need to worry, there’s a contest for you too. Prizes and contest info behind the jump.

· Gamers who want to start practicing can download “Pac-Man” (400 Microsoft Points) now from Xbox LIVE Arcade on the Xbox 360.

· Starting 25th April 2007, at 00:01GMT/ 01:01 CET, gamers can visit http://www.xboxlivetournament.com to register and review full eligibility criteria, regulations and rules.

· Also on 25th April 2007, at 00:01 GMT / 01:01 CET, the worldwide competition will officially kick off on Xbox LIVE Arcade.

· Previous leaderboard scores for “Pac-Man” will be deleted to provide a clean and fair slate for all gamers participating in the Xbox 360 “Pac-Man” World Championship.

· Concurrently, “Pac-Man” fans in the United States and Canada can also enter the “Pac-Man” FANatic contest and receive an invitation to compete in the finals in New York City. Starting 25th April 2007, they can visit http://www.xboxlivetournament.com for more information on how to submit a creative video that best illustrates their love for “Pac-Man.”

· On 9th May 2007, at 23:59 GMT / 00:59 CET, the competition will officially cease and nine finalists from the identified regions, based on the top leaderboard scores,* will advance to the Xbox 360 “Pac-Man” World Championship.

· Before 1st June 2007, the top nine finalists will be announced.

· The nine finalists will also be joined in New York City by the winner of the “Pac-Man” FANatic contest, and compete for the Xbox 360 “Pac-Man” World Championship title on 5th June 2007, in New York City.

For a complete list of participating countries and country-specific eligibility criteria, rules and regulations and to sign up for the Xbox 360 “Pac-Man” World Championship, gamers can visit http://www.xboxlivetournament.com starting 25th April, 2007.

There will be one finalist from each of the following areas: Asia, Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Japan and Mexico; and two finalists from Europe and the United States. The winner of the tournament will be crowned Pac-Man world champion by the game’s creator Toru Iwatani. The winner will also receive 26 years of free Quiznos subs (one sandwich a week for 26 years), valued at $13,520 USD, 100,000 Microsoft Points, valued at $1,249.50 USD, and a one-of-a-kind Xbox 360 featuring a special design inspired by Pac-Man.

In other Pac-Man news, the Pac-Man animated series will soon be making its way to the Marketplace. The series ran in the early 80s, and will be available on April 25th for 160MP per episode. Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of Global Marketing for Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, also stated that after screening, there’s a good chance that many of the user submitted videos from the FANatic contest will be uploaded to the Marketplace as well.

Thanks to nofear360 for submitting.