NEW YORK - Taco Bell has begun testing a value menu that directly competes with McDonald??s Dollar Menu, the Associated Press reports.

Taco Bell??s $1 Cravings Menu launched in October in Fresno, California, and Knoxville, Tennessee, and includes nine items, including three new offerings. If it proves successful, it would replace the chain??s "Why Pay More" value menu, whose least expensive items are priced at 89 cents and 99 cents.

According to Chris Brandt, vice president of marketing for Taco Bell, $1 Cravings includes the five "cravings" that Taco Bell customers demand: beefy, cheesy, spicy, crunchy and sweet.

During a time of heightened food competition, $1 is actually a slight price hike for Taco Bell compared to its "Why Pay More" menu. It also comes during a time of reinvention for the chain, whose Doritos Locos Tacos and Cantina Bell offerings led to strong sales last year. In the coming weeks, Taco Bell will begin marketing a "Happier Hour" that features a menu of snacks including the recently introduced Loaded Grillers.

The $1 Cravings menu includes three new items: a spicy chicken mini quesadilla, a spicy cheese roll up and a beefy cheesy burrito, which is smaller than Taco Bell's typical burritos.