Twitter has partnered with SoundCloud and iTunes to launch a new 'Audio Card' format for its mobile apps, Digital Spy said.

The move will allow users to play files hosted on these platforms in-tweet, but only tracks from a select group of artists are supported at present.

"With a single tap, the Twitter Audio Card lets you discover and listen to audio directly in your timeline on both iOS and Android devices," said Twitter in a blog post.

"Throughout your listening experience, you can dock the Audio Card and keep listening as you continue to browse inside the Twitter app."

Twitter previously considered purchasing SoundCloud and held discussions about integrating its files to the now-defunct Twitter Music service.

Earlier, Twitter announced that its 'popular tweets' feature has been rolled out to all users following a trial period.