Blizzard has sent out the first wave of invites for the World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria beta.

So far, these invites are limited to WOW Annual Pass holders, press, fansites, and friends and family.

Blizzard plans to invite Annual Pass holders in waves over the course of the beta test. It will decide who goes first based on a number of factors, including how long your WOW account has been active and when you signed up for the Annual Pass.

The game maker warned against fake beta invite emails. "We'll send you an email letting you know when you're selected, but please be aware of phishing attempts," Blizzard said. "Some unscrupulous individuals send out falsified emails purporting to be from Blizzard, but are in fact meant to steal your login credentials." It advised players avoid clicking on links in any invite emails received. Instead, log onto your Battle.net account and go from there.

Blizzard plans for all players who signed up for the Annual Pass to be invited over the course of the beta test. Additional players will be invited based on "our testing needs". If you want to be in with a chance of being one of those additional players, you have to opt in on Battle.net.