Japanese McDonalds restaurants are hoping to start training their employees in a more high-tech manner. Well, if you consider using a DS to train people high-tech. Yup, if you’re in Japan and you want to work at a McDonalds, playing on a DS is going to be part of your training sessions.

Nikkei reported the news that eSmart, McDonalds Japan’s DS training program, is currently in development. Once finished, each Japanese McDonalds store will have two DS units with eSmart in them to train part-time employees. The whole affair will cost about ¥200 million, around $2.2 million.

There’s no news on how the eSmart program will work or function. I know it’s silly, but I hope it works a bit like McDonalds Monogatari…

Sure, they aren’t nearly as fancy as $100+ statues but kids meal toys they are certainly more affordable.

While most are given through those wee servings known as a Happy Meal, Children’s Meal, Kids Meal or a similar moniker, some are purchasable as individual items at specific chains (assuming the owner or manager is nice enough to let you buy them a la carte).

Here’s a look at some of the most notable fast food premiums offered throughout the years…

McDonalds often does promotions that tie in with major movies, so it isn’t surprising that the fast food restaurant is running an Avatar promotion. What is unusual is that the promotion doesn’t relate to Happy Meals. Instead, it makes Big Macs into Happy Meals for adults. If you purchase a Big Mac between December 18, 2009 and January 7, 2010, there will be one of eight different Big Mac Thrill Cards, with an Avatar movie images on them, attached to the box.

The Big Mac Thrill Card is more than just decorative, though I’m sure it would make a neat, movie-related souvenir. Each card also grants people can enter access to three Avatar themed video games. The three online games are Pandora Quest, Pandora ROVR and MCDVision.

The first free game, Pandora Quest sounds like a hidden object puzzle. You have to find objects hidden throughout three levels before time finds out. Pandora ROVR sounds like it may be a three level racing game…

For those of you who indulge in the delicacies of fatty snacks that come in a colorful box and an accompanying toy, the recent McDonald’s Happy Meals are promoting Lego Batman and a game code has been stamped on the bottom of each toy.

There are eight toys in the set including four vehicles and four characters. Each game code unlocks playable characters so you don’t have to wait until later in the game to cash in precious and readily available Lego pegs for the same character.

I don’t usually do this but, since GoNintendo has already started the sharing, I’ll offer up two more codes…