The McDonald's Corporation plans to issue an apology and pay $10 million to vegetarian and religious groups for using beef flavoring in its French fries. The action is part of a proposed settlement of lawsuits charging that the company misled consumers.

 According to a draft of the settlement, 60 percent of the payment would go to vegetarian groups, with the rest going to groups devoted to Hindus and Sikhs, children's nutrition and assistance, and kosher dietary practices. McDonald's would also pay an additional $4,000 to each of 12 plaintiffs in five separate lawsuits, which claimed McDonald's wrongly described the fries as vegetarian.

 McDonald's issued an initial apology last year for causing any confusion over its use of beef ingredients in French fries sold in the United States and some other countries. But the plaintiffs said the apology did not go far enough, contending that when McDonald's said it had switched to vegetable oil to cook its fries in 1990, many people assumed that the food was suitable for vegetarian diets.

 Under the proposed settlement, McDonald's would publish a more detailed apology on its Web site and elsewhere, and convene an advisory board for vegetarian matters.

 When McDonald's disclosed last year that it used beef tallow, Hindu groups attacked a McDonald's in Bombay. The company has said it does not use any beef ingredients in its Indian products.

 "I'm not happy with the $10 million, and wish I could do better in terms of money," said Harish Bharti, a Seattle lawyer, who in May filed the first suit against McDonald's on behalf of 16 million Hindus and vegetarians. "But our focus was to change the fast food industry, and this is a big victory for consumers in this country because we've brought this giant to do this."

 A McDonald's spokesman said it was premature to discuss details before an official settlement.

 The five lawsuits over the fries were filed last year in Washington, California, Texas, Illinois and New Jersey. The proposed master settlement agreement would control the terms in all pending cases and protect McDonald's from further liability arising from beef-flavored fries.