Amazon releases its virtual currency for Kindle apps

Kindle Fire users who switch on their devices today will find 500 newly-minted Amazon Coins in their accounts. The new Amazon virtual currency, first announced back in February, represents the company's latest bid to bolster sales on the Kindle Fire platform. "For customers, Amazon Coins is an easy way to purchase apps and in-app items on Kindle Fire," says Amazon. "For developers, it's another opportunity to drive traffic, downloads and increased monetization." To kickstart its currency, Amazon deposited 500 free Coins into each Kindle Fire owner's account today, the equivalent of $5 US. Amazon says the total number of free Coins constitute "tens of millions of dollars" in real-world money. "We will continue to add more ways to earn and spend Coins on a wider range of content and activities," Amazon adds. Amazon is offering a 10 percent discount for customers buying the Coins in bulk. Developers who adopt the Coin currency for transactions will receive a 70 percent revenue share from all purchases.