An epic film about the Prophet Mohammad backed by the producer of "The Lord of the Rings" is being planned with the aim of "bridging cultures".

Filming of the £90 million English-language film was set to start in 2011, with Barrie Osborne as its producer, Almoor Holdings, a Qatari media company, said.

The company said the film - in which the Prophet would not be depicted, in accordance with Islamic strictures - was in development and talks were being held with studios, talent agencies and distributors in the United States and Britain.