­Apple today announced it has sold three million iPads in just three days since the launch of its new iPad mini and fourth generation iPad -- double the previous first weekend milestone of 1.5 million Wi-Fi only models sold for the third generation iPad in March.

Demand for iPad mini exceeded the initial supply and while many of the pre-orders have been shipped to customers, some are scheduled to be shipped later this month.

The Wi-Fi + Cellular versions of both iPad mini and fourth generation iPad will ship in a few weeks in the US and in many more countries later this year.

"Customers around the world love the new iPad mini and fourth generation iPad," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We set a new launch weekend record and practically sold out of iPad minis. We're working hard to build more quickly to meet the incredible demand."

Both iPad mini and the new fourth generation iPad with Retina display are available in 34 countries, and will be available in many more countries later this year, including mainland China.