On May 19th in theaters across the United States, movie-goers will be introduced to Podracing, the galaxy's fastest and most dangerous sport, in a pivotal, action-packed scene of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The very next day video game players will be able to live the excitement of Podracing on their Nintendo 64 systems.

On distant planets throughout the Star Wars universe, Podracers compete for fame and fortune on courses that dash through deserts, roar across alien ice fields or meander between tightly packed spaceport buildings.

The Podracer vehicles are cobbled together from cast-off starship engines, which are outfitted with suspensor fields and rigged to a cockpit for the craft's driver. Visualize hitching a car to a pair of jet engines and you'll have an idea of the basic premise behind Podracing.

Star Wars: Episode I: Racer for Nintendo 64 captures all the excitement of the interplanetary Podracing circuit on dozens of tracks on planets scattered throughout the galaxy.

You can race as Anakin Skywalker, the evil Sebulba or an all new character. In the game's campaign mode, you'll travel from planet to planet, vying for prize money that you can use to buy high-tech parts to improve your Podracer, or repair damage from a previous race.

Each track on the circuit is a test of skill and endurance, filled with hair-pin turns, treacherous shortcuts and death-defying jumps.

Like all Lucas Arts Star Wars games, Star Wars: Episode I: Racer uses the universe of the movie as a starting point and creates a world for you to explore. In May, get ready to climb into your own Podracer and start your engines!