Apple on Thursday released Mac OS X 10.6.6, which includes the Mac App Store.

[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]“With more than 1,000 apps, the Mac App Store is off to a great start,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We think users are going to love this innovative new way to discover and buy their favorite apps.”

According to Apple, the Mac App Store offers apps in Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity, Utilities and other categories. Users can browse new and noteworthy apps, find out what’s hot, see staff favorites, search categories and look up top charts for paid and free apps, as well as user ratings and reviews.

Apple highlighted several companies that are making its apps available through the store like Autodesk, Ancestry.com and Boinx.

Some of Apple’s own apps are available can now be purchased individually. iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand apps from the iLife ‘11 suite are available for $14.99 each. and Pages, Keynote and Numbers from iWork are available for $19.99 each.

Aperture 3, Apple’s professional photo editing and management software, is available for $79.99.

Mac OS X 10.6.6 and the Mac App Store are available via the software update control panel in Mac OS X.