Middle-Earth Online Interview

Following yesterday's Tolkien licensing press release, Computer Games Magazine had the chance to speak with Turbine's Vijay Lakshman over the phone to learn more about their plans for Middle-Earth Online. Here's a bit of what the vice president of production had to say:
One interesting tidbit in the Turbine press release today was that the company not only has the rights to make MMO titles based on Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings book trilogy but also Tolkien's prequel book The Hobbit. When pressed for details, Lakshman admitted that while a few Turbine's designers have some ideas for incorporating The Hobbit in Middle Earth Online, there are no current plans to do so in the game. He did say, (We did not buy the rights for nothing.) Perhaps a Hobbit themed expansion pack after the release of the main game? (That would be a reasonable assumption.)