Apple claims to have sold more than two million iPads, less than sixty days since its launch on April 3. The milestone comes as the high-profile tablet computer began shipping in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK this past weekend, with July launches in an additional nine countries planned. Apple did not break down international sales to date, which have been hampered by delays. The international launch of the iPad was originally scheduled for late April, but was pushed back by a month due to what the Californian company called higher-than-expected US demand. In yesterday’s statement, Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs commented on the customer wait: “We appreciate their patience, and are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone.” According to Australia’s CommSec iPad Index, the tablet is up to 25 percent more expensive in Europe than the US.

The iPad, a 9.7-inch touchscreen tablet intended primarily for games, Web browsing and digital media of all sorts, is expected by analysts to ship over 8 million units worldwide by the end of the year, which would translate into at least US$4 billion of revenue. The iPad is also expected to catalyse a new market for tablets; Dell and Acer both made high-profile moves into this space last week, and Motorola is tipped to launch a similar device soon. Taiwan’s Asustek, a company that pioneered the netbook, has also said its new tablet device – called the Eee Pad – will start selling in the first quarter of next year. The touch-screen tablet personal computer will use Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system and Intel’s Core processor. Meanwhile Apple is expected to next week unveil the latest version of its hugely successful iPhone.