Russia has unveiled a new symbol to represent the ruble alongside other major world currencies.

The symbol, which resembles the Latin letter "P" with a horizontal line through it, will be used by the central bank and appear on Russia's coins and banknotes, The Moscow Times reports.

The sign was approved by the central bank after a period of public consultation, during which 61 percent of the participants voted for the eventual winner.

The move comes as Russia tries to extend its global economic reach. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has championed a drive to make Moscow an international financial center and has called for the ruble to become one of the world's reserve currencies, according to The Moscow Times.

Ruble coins with the new symbol will be introduced into circulation in 2014.

Some critics have said that the sign will be confusing to foreigners.

In Russian, the Latin letter "P" is pronounced as an "R," while to English speakers it will look simply look like the Latin letter "P" and have no obvious connection to the word "ruble."

Other variations originally proposed by the financial regulator included different forms of the Latin letter "R."