• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, May 29, 2007

Even Orc-slaying Night Elves need to put down their swords once in a while to refill on Diet Coke and pizza at the local 7-Eleven. Now they can pay with a World of Warcraft-branded Visa card that lets holders earn free play time on the fantasy game when they use the card.

For every dollar spent, players earn a one cent credit toward their $14.99 monthly game subscription fee. The cards, developed by the First National Bank of Omaha and WoW-maker Blizzard Entertainment, are emblazoned with a variety of images and character types from the game.

Reactions to the WoW Visa card on CNet’s GameSpot were mixed, with some applauding the effort and others protesting the exploitation of the game’s popularity for commercial purposes.