We've just received word that Apple is now taking pre-orders for the Spore Creature Creator. Priced at $9.95, the full version of this early glimpse at Will Wright's God game lets players mold their own species and even share it with their friends over the web. The demo version is also due out soon, packing a quarter of the features available with the purchasable version.

"With a simple drag-and-drop interface, SPORE Creature Creator lets you assemble your creature from a wide range of parts. Want tentacles? No problem. Five eyes? How about seven? Pull and stretch those parts exactly as you choose, then paint your creature with unique colors and patterns. This truly unprecedented level of flexibility frees you to make a limitless number of fun creatures. Bring those creatures to life, see how they dance, strike a pose, and much more. In just a few minutes, anyone can easily make incredible animated creatures," says Apple.

Don't worry about having to part with your creature when the full version of Spore is out. Your work will not be lost. If you like the creature you've designed with the Spore Creature Creator, you will be able to import it into the full game for both Mac and PC, when it is released on September 5, 2008 in Europe, and September 7, 2008 in North America.

The demo version of the Spore Creature Creator will be available on the 17 of June (that's this month!). We'll be offering it for grabs the minute it's out. It will use 25 percent of the creature-making parts from Spore, but it will enable you to mold, shape, paint and play with an unlimited number of creatures. As noted above, you will also be able to share your designs with friends over the web, and even upload them on YouTube.

Main features of the Spore Creature Creator include:

- Build using 228 drag-and-drop, flexible parts;
- Paint with unique patterns so your creature stands out in a crowd;
- Play with your creature as it comes to life with dances, poses, and emotions;
- Share using built-in snapshot and video tools to make your creature a star.

The full version of the Spore Creature Creator gives players access to all the creature-making parts in the game. Click here to apply for your own copy.