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The first ever tweet has been sold for the equivalent of two million pounds.

The tweet, posted by the founder of twitter Jack Dorsey, was published 15 years ago on March 21, 2006, and simply said: "just setting up my twttr".

It has now been sold for charity and was bought by Malaysian-businessman Sina Estavi, who compared the purchase to buying the famous Mona Lisa painting.

Although the tweet is not as nice to look at, it is seen as valuable because of its cultural and historical significance.

"This is not just a tweet!" Mr Estavi posted from his own Twitter. "I think years later people will realize the true value of this tweet, like the Mona Lisa painting."

The tweet was bought using the cryptocurrency called Ethereum, a rival to Bitcoin.

Cryptocurrency can be described as virtual or digital cash, or simply, online money.

The tweet was sold as a nonfungible token (NFT). An NFT is a unique digital certificate that shows who owns a photo, video or other form of online media.

Each NFT is unique and acts as a collector's item that can't be copied, which makes things like Mr Dorsey's tweet rare and something of value.

NFTs have become popular recently, with expensive digital artwork also being sold this way.

As the buyer, Sina Estavi will receive a certificate, digitally signed and verified by Mr Dorsey, as well as the metadata of the original tweet.

The metadata will include information such as the time the tweet was posted and what it says.

Social media experts say the sale of tweets and other online posts will become more popular.

"We live in an age where celebrities, musicians and influencers have more than fans, they have stans, and they will want to own a piece of their favourite stars," said Cathy Hackl, founder of Futures Intelligence Group.

"Just like people buy physical memorabilia, they will buy their tweets, posts, and snaps because they want to feel close to that star".

Even though it has been sold, the tweet will remain publicly available on Twitter.

Mr Dorsey who will receive 95% of the £2.1m made from the sale of his tweet said he would convert it to Bitcoin which he will donate to the Give Directly's Africa Response fund which helps families who are living in poverty.