UAE operator du struck a deal to allow customers using Nokia phones on its network to buy apps and content from Nokia Store and have the purchases charged directly to their bill or prepaid account.

The use of direct operator billing allows users to acquire apps and content quickly using a secure form of payment. It also supports du customers using Wi-Fi hotspots to download content.

"Without credit card details to worry about, our customers can purchase Nokia apps from anywhere, at any time, providing them with the flexibility to download the very latest in mobile enhancements as and when they want them," said du chief commercial officer Farid Faraidooni.

Nokia Store now has more than 90,000 apps with 11 million downloads per day. There are more than 2,000 locally-developed Arabic apps on Nokia Store, which saw a 280 percent growth in the number of downloads from the region in 2011.