World of Warcraft Nation - OC Register Reports 400,000 Beta Applicants

A local newspaper in Orange County, CA(where Blizzard is based), had an article about the number of applicants in the beta test. It said 400,000 applicants, and GFrazier somewhat confirmed this.

GFraizer:
That includes Korea and doesn't include the final numbers without duplicates that I'm still waiting for. =] I bet 275,000 as my guess.

Only 10,000 will be chosen for stage 1 of Beta tests. And each server supports 2,000-3,000 players. This means Blizzard may acquire over 150 servers to supply 400,000 subscribers.

Highlights:

Fans are already eagerly awaiting its summer launch, and some 400,000 people volunteered this week to test the new game before its public debut.
Blizzard must whittle its pool of 400,000 applicants down to 10,000 beta testers. The company will look for players with a variety of computer systems, processors, graphics cards and online access, as well as players from different regions.
World of Warcraft" has been in development for four years, with 60 full-time Blizzard designers and engineers working on the game. Including folks who added their cinematic prowess, sound expertise and other administrative duties, some 500 people have lent a hand in the game's development.
Each server can support 2,000 to 3,000 players
The world has 60 zones

Read the full article here. Note that you need to register on their site to read the article, but registration is free.