Check out Nick Yee's Daedalus Project. Tons of statisics on the why and wherefor's of the people who play MMO's. I think it's a combination of the things in the game and the popularity of the films. The films had a huge following with the last reports saying it was more female based then males. I wouldn't be sure of the same of the books. Tolkien didn't have many women represented in his works, as well as other things representative of the culture at the time. Goes without saying the great amount of shock when people find that Tom Bombadil was involed with the fellowship, before it fellowed in the books...not the movie. Or when people find that Galadriel is Arwen's Grandmother on her mother's side.
I have played other MMOs running some large guilds where we had about 40% females IRL that were guildies. There's also the possiblity that women don't have to hide as much while playing. Not so much "A/S/L? LOL" going on.
Either way, don't mean to much to me if I'm grouped with a male or female, you make a bad call, and wipe the group, I'll call ya a n00b just the same
Statistically more women? 
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