If The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim were The Beatles, and this was 1963, then proper response to the map located above may be along the line of “Squeee.” Unfortunately time and reality are fickle mistresses, so we will just have to accept the scenario and instead quietly scrutinize the recently released map for Skyrim.
The source for the map is from the Russian gaming exhibition Igromir (which was then picked up by Kotaku) where it was handed out by Bethesda, which if nothing else just shows the global appeal of this game—it also explains why the text is in Russian. The map was then hoisted onto Elderscrolls.net. So while the map does appear authentic, the icons on it are something of a mystery. The good money is that the nine icons represent fairly large cities that you can explore.
Basically, the world of Skyrim is massive. Utterly massive. We’ll have to wait until November 11 to see how massive it really is, when The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is released for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.