Finland is launching a series of national emojis that include people sweating in saunas, classic Nokia phones and heavy metal head-bangers.

Petra Theman, from the Finnish Foreign Ministry, said the emojis will be released as a way to promote the country's image abroad and are based on themes associated with Finland.

She said that emojis suit the character of the traditionally reticent Finns "who only speak when it's necessary".

The free emojis will be released from December 1 at a rate of one a day, like a seasonal advent calendar.

Emojis, unlike emoticons that use typographical displays in texts, are pictures used to express emotions or ideas.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.