The LOTR extended edition just went up for pre-order on amazon.com 2 days ago and I read somewhere they will release this year. Now that New Line has taken care of their bankruptcy and their lawsuit issues with their back catlalog titles they are free to release them whenever!
http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-Picture-Trilogy-Extended/dp/B0026L7H20/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1299684627&sr=8-3
Originally I thought New Line would wait until closer to when The Hobbit part 1 hit theaters, but I think they need the extra cash flow now.
I'm just going to hold out on purchasing until I find out if they are superior picture quality to the theatrical releases on blu-ray. I had no problem with the audio, but the blu-ray picture quality on Fellowship and to a lesser extent Two Towers was a big letdown. They were marred by DNR, edge enhancement and inconsistent detail from shot to shot. The Return of the King was a much better transfer, but still effected by Digital Noise Reduction and the occasional loss of detail.