A village based on writer JRR Tolkien's fantasy world is being built in Norway for fans queuing for tickets to see the second film in the three-part screen adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.

Hundreds of Tolkien devotees in Oslo are expected to wait for several days for tickets to the country's first showing of The Two Towers, which go on sale on 4 November.

A "Hobbit" village, built by a film distribution company will open on Friday in a park near central Oslo to cater for up to 1,000 waiting fans.

It will include a miniature inn, houses and tepee-style tents.

Fans can win prizes for building dwellings and making costumes inspired by Tolkien's fictional sword and sorcery tales.

Devoted

There will also be Tolkien-related games, contests and performances, as well as repeated showings of the first film of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Fellowship of the Ring.

JRR Tolkien's epic story is loved by Norwegians

Guttorm Pettersen, managing director of Norway's SF Norge film distributor, admitted the idea was "a little crazy".

"But they really are devoted fans," he said. Tolkien-lovers are renowned around the world for their devotion to the fantastic tales of the ancient kingdom of Middle Earth.

Last year, about 600 people queued for several days in Oslo to see the premi�re of the first Lord of the Rings film, starring Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Liv Tyler and Sean Bean.

The Peter Jackson-directed epic triumphed at this year's Oscars, winning four prizes including those for cinematography and visual effects.

Some 500 tickets will be made available for the Norwegian premi�re on 18 December.

The story is based around the hobbit Frodo secretly carrying an all-powerful ring across Middle Earth to the land of Mordor and destroying it by throwing it into Mount Doom.