DS owners can jump online at McDonald's across the United States...

As Nintendo gears up for its long-awaited entrance into the world of online gaming the Japanese giant today highlighted what it means by “All-Access”, with confirmation of an agreement with Wayport to extend Wi-Fi service to DS owners at nearly 6000 McDonald’s restaurants across the United States.

Whilst the move may not help the general notion that gamers are fast-food addicts that crave nothing more then a bit of Mario Kart and a Big-Mac, it does signal the importance that Nintendo are placing on accessibility to its service.

Boasting a welcoming interface that allows gamers to play for free, when a DS gamer enters a Wayport enabled McDonald’s all they have to do is launch the game in Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection mode – no other setup is necessary.

"This agreement with Wayport will bring countless people together to play games in a single, simultaneous wireless community," says Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales & marketing. "Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection is simple to use. Beginning with free access at participating McDonald's, we have removed one of the major barriers that have kept people from going online to play games."

"By enabling Nintendo DS customers to access Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection via our Wi-Fi World® network and business model at McDonald's, we are continuing to drive more customers to the restaurants we serve and increase the relevancy of Wi-Fi to a broader customer base," said Dave Vucina, CEO of Wayport. "Nintendo is a pioneer in providing a new way for their customers to play the games they want to while away from home or the office, and McDonald's is the perfect

Detailed information about Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, as well as a list of participating Wayport/McDonald's hotspots, will be available soon at www.nintendowifi.com