Apple is reportedly interested in acquiring The Fancy, a fast-growing social network that has been compared to Pinterest, according to Digital Spy.

The Business Insider US technology blog first reported the potential deal, claiming that it is part of Apple's further move into the e-commerce market.

Thefancy.com bears the slogan "Discover amazing stuff, collect the things you love, unlock crazy good deals".

Users are able to compile 'wish lists' featuring photos of things that they "fancy", but also access web links to buy the items directly through the site.

The format has been likened to Pinterest, the popular social network that involves users 'pinning' images of their favourite items to an online board.

Pinterest is often used by brands for marketing purposes, but The Fancy has been developed with a much more integrated focus on e-commerce, involving the site taking a 10% cut of sales.

In a blurb on thefancy.com, the company describes itself as "part store, blog, magazine and wishlist".

In a report published last Friday (August 3), Business Insider said that an acquisition of The Fancy would "secure a role for Apple in the growing e-commerce market, putting the 400 million-plus users with credit cards on file with Apple's iTunes Store to work shopping - with Apple getting a cut of the action".

The report noted that the 20-person New York startup, led by co-founder and chief executive Joe Einhorn, is "much farther along in linking its users to transactions" than rival Pinterest.