Turns out they have the internet in Europe, and through its wonderful means we discovered today that Electronic Arts have finally dated their Guitar Hero rival, Rock Band, in the mother land of the UK and parts beyond.

According to reports, the official release date (for the UK) sees Rock Band available to punters as early as May 23 for the full bundle price of GBP 180 (around AU $380), causing a bit of s stir as the US price-tag sits at USD 169 (about AU $180).

Further, it appears only the Xbox 360 version of the game will be made available on the above date with other platforms TBA. We contacted EA Australia, but only received the reply, "we don’t have any further advancements on an Australian announcement at this stage".

The US version of the game has been available since November last year.

Update: While it's by no means an official confirmation and there's still no release date to be seen - our sources have revealed Australian retailer Harvey Norman are now taking pre-orders for the game. Pricing from our inquiry is AUD$120 for the game alone and $200 for the plastic instrument controllers, so around AUD$320 for the lot. Better than the UK estimates, but still a far cry from the reasonable North American prices.