Unicode Consortium, the organisation that regulates emojis has shortlisted 179 candidates – 61 characters plus variants – for release in 2019.

Giving a thumbs up to diversity, making up a large chunk of those new emoji are 55 characters to represent couples of different genders and skin tones, The Verge reported on Thursday.

The shortlisted emoji includes representation of a person with hearing impariment as well.

The list of draft candidates will be reviewed and finalised in the next meeting, this coming September, Unicode Consortium said in a blog post.

Also Read: World Emoji Day: Apple, Facebook, Twitter Celebrate with New Emojis

Additionally, eight "emoji provisional candidates" for 2020 have also been added which includes ninja, military helmet, mammoth, feather, dodo, magic wand, carpentry saw and a screwdriver, it said. (IANS)