Apple creates 70 new emoji including an avocado and a gorilla

All of the emoji will be available to iPhone and iPad users.

Apple says its iOS 10.2 update offers "more diverse characters, new professions, expressions like face palm, shrug and fingers crossed, and new emoji representing sports, food, animals and more".

Image Caption: The avocado is expected to be a popular addition

Image Caption: Emoji was characterised as the fastest growing language in the UK by 2015

The newly released batch will also bring new types of smiley faces that show different emotions and actions, such as a face with a Pinocchio-like nose.

Emoji was described as the fastest growing language in the UK by 2015 and is said to be evolving faster than many ancient types of communication, including hieroglyphics.

Image Caption: Men and women in careers feature in the new selection

Image Caption: Emoji emerged from Japan in the 1990s

They take their name from the Japanese words meaning "picture" and "character", and originated there in the late 1990s, before becoming popular among social media and instant message users.

The images had to be approved by the Unicode Consortium, which analyses and approves submitted designs for use by major technology firms including Apple, Google, Microsoft and Twitter.