U2 confirm first dates of 2006

They'll be returning down under after an eight-year gap, and New Zealand after 12.
The official dates are:
Friday March 17 - Auckland Ericsson Stadium
Tuesday March 21 - Brisbane Queensland Sports & Athletics Centre
Friday March 24 - Melbourne Telstra Dome
Tuesday March 28 - Adelaide AAMI Stadium
Friday March 31 - Sydney Telstra Stadium
The tour, which has already seen the foursome play 110 shows to a total of three and a half million people, will also hit Mexico, South America, New Zealand, Australia and Japan next year. Phew!