Windows Phone Marketplace to expand to 23 more markets this month

Microsoft has revealed that they are all set to expand the availability of Windows Phone Marketplace in 23 more countries this month.

The list includes: Bahrain, Bulgaria, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Estonia, Iceland, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

With this, Windows Phone’s app store would be supported in as many as 63 countries around the world.

The company clarified that the store in some of these markets would be restricted to comply with local laws and regulations.

Microsoft added:

Finally, due to the volume of new app submissions and updates, it’s taking at least 7 calendar days to certify apps—a number that could increase. Just something to consider if you’re aiming to have your app live by a particular date.

When App Hub is ready for you to start submitting to these new markets in the next week or two, I’ll be back to let you know.