Turbine and Codemasters Online are confirming that November 18 is the day their Lord of the Rings Online MMO gets its first expansion, Mines of Moria. As the title announces, the main idea behind this expansion is to allow players to explore and fight their way through the mines, one of the most terrifying spaces in the Lord of Rings universe.

Jeffrey Steefel, who is an executive producer of The Lord of the Rings Online, said that “Beginning November 18th players across North America and Europe will journey with the dwarves deep into Middle-earth to reclaim the ancient kingdom of Khazad-dûm from the minions of Saruman”.

Codemasters is also pushing its pre-order program, with exclusive offers and items available for all those who are placing an order on the game now. A player can get: The Cloak of Sunset, a unique cloak emblazoned with an image of the Hollin Gate; a character title, “Moria Expeditionary”; an in game token for another exclusive item. There's also a deal available to those who pre-order and which allows them to get a special lifetime membership at a reduced price.

In the Mines of Moria, MMO players can expect to explore underground cities, battle epic characters, like the Balrog, face off hordes of goblins and take down trolls.

The big problem with the release date (November 18) is that just a few days after, the second expansion to World of Warcraft, called Wrath of the Lich King, will also be launched. This means that some MMO players might be more interested in WoW than in Mines of Moria.

If you want to know more about the game, you can head to the official web site and get a free trial period to see what Lord of the Rings Online is all about.