The people crammed into a meeting room at the Providence Convention Center were contemplating a long visit to an exotic land. They wanted to know about the shape of the mountains and what the weather would be like. They asked if the natives would be approachable.

One man wanted to know whether he could burn things down. "I admit it," he said, "I'm a pyro."

He and the others were asking about "Middle-Earth Online."

This virtual world being created by Turbine Entertainment Software of Westwood, Massachusetts, is not yet ready for tourists.

Once it is completed, tens of thousands of PC owners will be able to create their own characters and step into a land of hobbits, wizards, elves, orcs, and dwarfs, most of them controlled by other computer owners who want to spend time in the universe created by J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. They'll be able to explore, fight, make alliances and perhaps even look for treasure.