Following Technology major Apple's footsteps, and with the aim to give its rival Telstra a tough competition, Australian telecommunications giant Optus has introduced for its customers an online applications store, which is available for all its customers currently on 2G or 3G enabled mobile phones using Symbian, Android, BlackBerry, Windows and Java operating systems.

The new Optus development has come after Telstra's announcement earlier this year stating that the company has started works on "a mobile application store that would allow customers to download applications over broadband networks".

"The Optus Application Store gives our customers an easy to navigate ‘one stop shop' to purchase a full suite of applications via Optus Zoo", Mark Mulder, general manager of Optus content said.

Promising in excess of 1,000 downloadable applications, Optus has the distinction of being the first Australian operator to give its customers a store to download apps, that too with a range of categories like lifestyle, finance, games, productivity, and many more.

With the move, Optus has joined the elite list of network and technology giants who offer application stores to their customers. Apple, Research in Motion, Nokia and Microsoft are some impressive names already on the list.