Twitter has announced plans to allow users to donate to charity through the social media platform, as well as to buy products from commercial retailers, and is currently testing the service in the US.

The site will now allow some users, including not-for-profit organisations, to send tweets which feature a “buy” button. The service is not limited to charities, but Twitter is testing the service with charitable organisations as some of the main users.

Over the next few weeks it will allow selected charities, musicians and corporate brands to send tweets with the buy button embedded. Initially the test will be limited to a few US users. If the test is successful, it will be rolled out.

Twitter has not said when the service may become available outside the US.

Twitter has sent users updated terms of reference to reflect this change.