LG Electronics Inc., South Korea's No. 2 tech giant, said Friday it will kick off sales of its latest smartwatch in Europe next month, expanding market presence abroad following the product's Seoul debut earlier this month. 

The LG G Watch R will hit local shelves in Britain, France, Germany and other key European countries in early November, the company said.

It will be available for purchase at the Google Play store in those countries, LG said, adding it plans to tap into North America, other Asian countries and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The market price for the G Watch R in Europe will be announced at the time of the launch, the tech firm said. 

The round smartwatch, which only comes in black, features an 1.3-inch polymer-organic light-emitting diode (P-OLED) screen and a leather strap that makes users feel they are wearing a classic watch. 

It has a voice command function supported by Google Now and is water-resistant for up to 30 minutes at a maximum depth of one meter. 

The 410 mAh-battery model, powered by Google Inc.'s Android Wear platform that debuted in Seoul last week, is sold at a factory price of 352,000 won (US$306). 

In July, LG started sales of its first full-fledged wearable, the square LG G Watch, which comes with a 1.65-inch in-plane switching (IPS) display. (Yonhap)