The new smartphones include models marketed by HTC Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Toshiba, LG Electronics Inc. and others, Microsoft (Redmond, Wash.) said. In total, the devices will be available in more than 20 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia, Microsoft said.

Two of the new smartphones, the HTC HD2 and the Acer neoTouch, contain Snapdragon chipsets from Qualcomm Inc., according to the San Diego-based chip supplier. Both devices will be available in European markets.

Microsoft also launched a new applications store, Windows Marketplace for Mobile, which is initially offering 246 mobile applications. The site will provide access to business applications as well as personal applications like Facebook, MySpace, Netflix and others, according to Microsoft. All purchased applications are certified by Microsoft to run on Windows phones and are backed by a simple return policy, according to the company.