Amazon introduced its Coins virtual currency in Japan and Australia, as it looks to drive app downloads and in-app purchases across an increasingly broad range of countries.

Users in the new markets can now use Coins to pay for apps, mobile games and in-app items on Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets and Android smartphones and tablets from other vendors. They can also use the virtual currency on Amazon’s local e-commerce websites.

For a limited period, every Kindle Fire owner in Japan and Australia will find JPY500 ($4.80) or AUD5.00 ($4.66) of free coins in their Amazon account.

Virtual items carry a 10 per cent discount if bought using Amazon Coins. However, users can also buy Coins in bulk to receive discounts of up to 20 per cent on apps and games bought in the Amazon Appstore.

As previously, Amazon stressed that developers maintain their full revenue share with Coins, despite the discounts offered to customers.

Coins were initially launched in the US, UK and Germany in May 2013 for Kindle Fire devices. Android support was added in February before the virtual currency arrived in France, Italy and Spain in May.

In August last year, Amazon said almost half of developers who monetise their apps using Coins saw weekly revenue rise by more than 50 per cent after introduction of the virtual currency.