Microblogging site Twitter has begun testing a new advertising feature, which may give internet marketing services another way of reaching consumers.
The Promoted Tweets system allows advertisers to pay to have their messages displayed in individual feeds which the website thinks may be relevant.
Announcing the trial on its official blog, Twitter said the service would initially only be seen by those with HootSuite installed and the company was experimenting with the best times and places to display the ads.
The blog said the organisation would be "carefully looking at how Twitter users react to and engage with Promoted Tweets" and they would be extended across the site "only when we feel we're delivering a high-quality experience".
It went on to say Promoted Tweets would allow people access to accounts and information that they would not otherwise have seen.
A recent report in the New York Times revealed Twitter now has over 175 million users and is continuing to grow at a rate of 370,000 new accounts per day.
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