Apple announced Monday that over 2 billion apps have been downloaded from its App Store since the e-commerce site's launch in July 2008, and the pace continues to accelerate, according to chief executive Steve Jobs.

The company also said that there are now more than 85,000 apps available. The apps now can be downloaded in 77 countries, in over 20 categories, Apple said.

The rate of App Store downloads continues to accelerate with users downloading a staggering two billion apps in just over a year, including more than half a billion apps this quarter alone, Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive said in a statement.

The App Store has reinvented what you can do with a mobile handheld device, and our users are clearly loving it.

At a media event earlier this month, Apple reported that the store had over 75,000 applications and accommodated 1.8 billion downloads.

This means that in about three weeks' time, it has added over 10,000 apps and users have downloaded an additional 200 million applications.

Apple achieved its first billion apps downloaded in about nine months, from July 2008 until April 23. The most recent billion was achieved in about five months.

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