Starcraft – Does the digital version of Starcraft 2 include two guest passes

According to a post by a Blizzard employee, you might be able to play with your friends no matter where they are:

Getting people online, playing and interacting is obviously the overall goal for the Battle.net platform, and that includes allowing people to play across regional boundaries as they have in the past.

Unfortunately, there are a multitude of challenges we have to overcome due to the unique regional account and billing options that didn't exist in the past. But those hurdles aren't insurmountable, and we are looking into solutions that will allow interested players to obtain access to other regional versions without having to buy another full copy of the game. Those solutions are something we're currently planning to have available through Battle.net Account Management within the first few months of StarCraft II's release.

Before that solution is implemented though, you're correct in that you'd need to purchase a US copy of the game on launch day to play in the US region.

However notice that he is talking about a potential future feature which may end up not getting implemented (or not implemented in a satisfying way), so in the meanwhile I would be careful about which version to buy.

Guest pass answer for July 2010

When StarCraft 2 was released in July 2010 this was the correct answer:

The guest pass allows a guest to play StarCraft 2 for 7 hours of game time or 14 days from activation (whichever comes first).

Once over a retail version can be purchased.

Guest pass answer for August 2011

As pointed out by marco-fiset things have changed since that time. Now the guest pass gives you access to a "Starter Edition" of Starcraft 2 which gives you the following restrictions:

• The first four missions of the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty single-player campaign, including Mar Sara 1-3 and the choice to embark on Tychus’s first mission or Dr. Hansen’s first mission.
• The first two Challenges: Tactical Command and Covert Ops.
• Access to the terran race in Custom Games and Single-Player vs. AI.
• Access to the following custom maps (map selection may rotate over time):
  • Xel’Naga Caverns
  • Shattered Temple
  • Discord IV
  • High Orbit
• No map editor.

All campaign progress and earned achievements are saved once you purchase the full edition of the game.

The 7 hour or 14 days time restriction does not apply anymore.