Whatever your views on Titanic, 3-D, or James Cameron in general, there's no denying that this Friday, 21st August, the eyes of all geeks (be they 2 or 4) will be focussed on one film: Avatar. As Fox arrange to make movie history with a national free preview of Cameron's upcoming sci-fi epic, people will flock to their nearest cinemas to watch hand-picked footage on screens of all sizes.

The teaser trailer will be hitting the UK in standard and IMAX cinemas, both in 2-D and 3-D. But in addition to the free, ticketed frenzy, footage will also be available online from Friday. On that same fateful day, Fox will unveil their 3-D posters, Ubisoft will reveal their videogame tie-in, and Mattel will unmask their action figures - because we clearly couldn't do without those. The extended look at Avatar will unspool for two showings only on the Friday evening across the UK, the exception being BFI Southbank, IMAX where lucky viewers will get four separate showings. Tickets can be obtained at www.seefilmfirst.com and entering the code 302001. Seats will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Participating cinemas in the UK showing the footage include:

Cineworld Aberdeen
Cineworld Birmingham, Broad Street
Cineworld Brighton
Cineworld Cardiff
Cineworld Edinburgh
Cineworld Glasgow, Renfrew Street
Cineworld Sheffield
Odeon London IMAX Greenwich
Odeon London IMAX Wimbledon
Odeon Manchester Printworks
Odeon Southampton
Vue Bristol Cribbs
Vue London West End
BFI Southbank IMAX

Avatar, the heroic tale of one man's redemption and discovery (by way of spectacular special effects and 3-D explosions), was first conceived by Cameron 14 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not yet exist. Now, after four years of actual production work,it will open in cinemas everywhere on Friday 18th December.