Australians are all about the love with laughing faces and love when it comes to emojis. Source: Twitter

Research into the way Australians use emojis has found that the little illustrations that started out as a gimmick on Japanese phone networks are now a key part of our interpersonal communication.

The research by Oppo and conducted to mark World Emoji Day today found that half of Australians in a relationship have turned to emojis in an attempt to appease their loved ones after an argument.

More than two thirds of Australian women and half of Australian men say emojis allow them to express themselves better and one in six Australians believe emojis should now be considered an official language.

Twitter, to mark World Emoji Day, released a summary of how people used everything from smiley faces to smiling piles on poo in their tweets and found the most frequently tweeted emoji by Australians is the “face with tears of joy” also known as the LOL emoji, ahead of the face with heart eyes.

In a comparison of most popular emojis around the world, Twitter found the emoji that distinguishes Australia from the global trend is the thumbs up, while South American countries are more likely to tweet music notes, France and Italy tweet hearts and the United States and the United Kingdom tweet the weary face more than others.

Last week the Unicode Consortium which manages the standardisation of emoji illustrations approved 11 new emoji to better represent women, including female chefs, graduates, scientists and rockstars, as well as adding male and female versions to 33 existing emojis so you will be able to send an emoji of either a man or woman running or being a police officer.