Orcs and elves join McDonald's in fast-food war

McDonald's Corp is enlisting the orcs and elves of the World of Warcraft in its fight to win over Chinese consumers scared away by food safety scandals.

To entice younger customers, McDonald's designed Warcraft-themed outlets and gave away virtual items such as magic turtles tied to the popular online role-playing game, its first cooperation in China with a computer game.

The effort comes as the world's largest restaurant chain seeks to recover from a food scandal in July, when its main supplier in Shanghai was accused of selling expired meat, leading China sales to plunge 23 percent.