Twitter launches six-second video-sharing app 'Vine'

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo posted a 'Steak tartare in six seconds' video using Vine Credit: Twitter/@dickc

Twitter has launched a new application that allows users to shoot and share short, looping videos.

Vine, which hosts video clips of up to six seconds long, is available on the iPhone and iPod touch and can be downloaded for free on iTunes.

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo last night tweeted a video entitled 'steak tartare in six seconds' using the Vine app, before confirming its launch today.

Twitter purchased the video-sharing startup in October, before it had launched publicly.

Vine, which was reportedly launched by three people in New York in June, describes itself as "the best way to capture and share video on your iPhone."

The app can also be downloaded without a Twitter account.

"Posts on Vine are about abbreviation — the shortened form of something larger," wrote Vine co-founder Dom Hofmann in a blog.