CAIRO -- Fast-food giant McDonald's has introduced the regionally-inspired McArabia chicken sandwich to Egypt in a bid to beat a boycott of U.S. products by many Arabs angry over the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Arab fury, already simmering for decades over the United States' perceived bias toward Israel, was fanned in the run-up to the U.S.-led war in Iraq and resulted in protests and widespread calls to avoid U.S. products. "I think it (the McArabia sandwich) has pushed sales higher, after the anti-U.S. boycott when people were saying not to eat at McDonald's," the manager of one McDonald's branch said on Thursday in Cairo, capital of the Arab world's most populous country, Reuters reported.

The McArabia contains two grilled chicken patties wrapped in flat bread, mimicking popular fare in the Arab world. The manager, who asked not to be named, said meals containing chicken were very popular among Egyptians.

"We Egyptians have our own style of food and it is in the same style," he said.

The sandwich was introduced in Persian Gulf Arab countries earlier this year and proved popular before the company decided to introduce it to the Egyptian market, he said.

Other companies have also sought to win over angry Arabs to U.S. brands in the region.

Leading regional fast-food firm Kuwait Food Co, known as Americana -- which has the franchise for U.S. brands such as Pizza Hut, Hardees and KFC -- has been running a media campaign pointing out that it is "100 percent Arab".