Samsung Electronics, the world's second largest mobile phone seller by volume, said its application store will be available to users in Brazil and China by the end of this month as part of an ongoing global expansion.

People with Samsung Omnia II (I8000) and OmniaLITE (B7300, I329) smartphones in those countries will be able to download a range of apps including games, social networking apps and e-books by the end of this month, Samsung said in a statement.

The company's app store opened for mobile devices in mid-September, targeting the U.K., France and Italy. Germany and Singapore have been added since then.

During the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Samsung said its application store would start offering apps for certain flat panel TV models in July.

Global telecommunications companies and handset makers have rushed to set up app stores in the wake of Apple's success with its iPhone and iPod Touch App Store. Users in 77 countries worldwide can already download software from the App Store, according to Apple. Over 3 billion apps have already been downloaded from the store.

Samsung plans to ensure that users in 50 countries will be able to access its app store by the end of this year.

Source:PC World