Microsoft has seen a rapid growth of applications that are being submitted to the Windows Phone Marketplace, for example late in December the number of apps for Windows Phone users reached the 50,000 mark. Now the official Windows Phone Developers blog is reporting that Microsoft will soon make the Windows Phone Marketplace available in several new countries.
Those countries will include China, which is the second biggest smartphone audience in the world next to the US. The other countries that will be added are Argentina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru and the Philippines. In all, 41 countries will have access to the Windows Phone Marketplace apps when those additional territories are added.
While app developers can go ahead and submit apps for those countries now to the Marketplace, they are not yet available, with Microsoft saying, "We will provide more information about availability of the Marketplace for customers in these markets in a future post." In addition Microsoft states, "You should be aware that applications submitted to three of these six new markets – China, Indonesia and Malaysia – will be subject to additional requirements due to local laws, regulations or norms."
Adding China to the mix is obviously a big deal since a well made application created for the Chinese market has a good chance of being successful.