Electronic Arts have announced the first in what will inevitably be a chain of expansion packs for The Sims 3. Entitled The Sims 3: World Adventures, the first expansion pack will allow players to journey with their Sims to "famous real-world inspired" destinations around the world, seeking out new adventures, skills, and dreams.

The new expansion pack will allow players to journey far and wide, with locations in China, France, and Egypt to all be represented in the new content. While in exotic locations, players will be able to teach their Sims new skills, meet new friends with "unique" personalities, and take virtual photographs to record their adventures.

The expansion pack will also give all players who purchase the game on the PC/Mac platforms 1,000 SimPoints to spend at the online The Sims 3 Store, allowing players to get their hands on "exclusive online content".

Scott Evans, General manager of The Sims at EA is pleased at the success of the latest instalment in the series, and excited about the new content that will arrive with The Sims 3: World Adventures:

We’re thrilled with the global success of The Sims 3 over these last few months and are looking forward to expanding on the gameplay experience with one of the most robust expansion packs to The Sims yet. Players will be able to take their Sims on the adventure of a lifetime and explore lands outside of Sunset Valley and Riverview, pursue thrilling new life destinies in locations around the world inspired by famous destinations, and immerse themselves in the open-ended gameplay where they’ll discover new cities in China, France and Egypt and share new stories.

While EA's move to begin churning out expansion packs for The Sims 3 is no big surprise - it will be interesting to see just how many they decide to churn out before starting work on the invertible fourth title in the series.

The Sims 3: World Adventures expansion pack is currently scheduled for release on the 16th of November, and the content will eventually make its way to the mobile phone and iPhone versions of the game in "early 2010".