IPad's international launch slated for May 28

A customer (R) buys an iPad at an electronic products store in Hefei, Anhui province April 22, 2010.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc said on Friday it will launch the iPad tablet computer in nine international markets on May 28, following a strong debut in the United States last month.

The iPad will go on sale in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and Britain. Pre-ordering for those markets will start on May 10.

The international launch was originally schedule for late April, but Apple delayed it by a month due to what it called higher-than-expected demand.

Apple also said the iPad will expand to Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore in July.

The iPad, a 9.7-inch touchscreen tablet intended primarily for games, Web browsing, and digital media of all sorts, went on sale in the U.S. on April 3.

The company has already sold more than 1 million iPads. Analysts expect the company to sell roughly 5 million of the devices this year.

Shares of Cupertino, California-based Apple fell 3.3 percent to $238 in midday trading on the Nasdaq. The broader Nasdaq market was down 1.6 percent.

(Reporting by Gabriel Madway; Editing by Derek Caney)