Prince has joined Twitter.

The legendary singer - who was one of the first musicians to use the internet to release music and connect with his fans - took to the social networking site on Wednesday (14.08.13) and posted a series of amusing tweets.

The 55-year-old musician took over the Twitter account for his backing band, 3rd Eye Girl, and announced his arrival on the platform in grandiose style.

He tweeted: ''PRINCE'S 1ST TWEET... TESTING 1, 2...''

Prince then followed up, writing: ''PRINCE'S 2ND TWEET.''

The 'Purple Rain' hitmaker also shared his first picture on the networking site - a shot of his overly-peppered salad lunch.

He captioned the snap: ''PRINCE'S 3RD TWEET: DID EYE ADD 2 MUCH PEPPER? (sic)''

Prince was quick to poke fun at social media norms as he posted his first 'selfie', but instead of posting a flattering picture of himself like other Twitter-savvy celebrities, the bemused star opted to share an obscure close-up of what appears to be his hair.

He wrote: ''1st selfie #selfie (sic)''

Prince was an early adopter of the web and had his own NPG Music Club fan site, which ran from February 2001 until July 2006. He used the platform to release a number of albums, including 'C-Note', 'N.E.W.S.' and 'The Chocolate Invasion'.

The 'When Doves Cry' singer previously hit the headlines when he declared the internet was ''outdated''.

He said: ''The internet's like MTV. At one time, MTV was hip, and suddenly it became outdated.''