SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Top U.S. online retailer Amazon announced Monday that it has donated 100 million U.S. dollars to charitable organizations through the AmazonSmile program since its launch five years ago.

Amazon said AmazonSmile is a way for customers to support their favorite charity by shopping at its online website with part of their purchases going to the organizations they choose.

In order to encourage greater support for charities from its customers, Amazon decided to donate 5 percent, or 10 times more than the typical donation rate, of the purchase price of eligible products to their designated charity organization when customers buy those items at its online shop from Monday through Nov. 2.

"Hundreds of thousands of charities have been able to expand their meaningful work thanks to the donations they've received through AmazonSmile," said Jeff Wilke, Amazon CEO Worldwide Consumer.

Amazon did not specify which charity groups have received the donated money, but it said customers can select from more than 1 million charities, from local and national humanitarian organizations to schools, hospitals, cultural organizations and pet shelters.

AmazonSmile donations have helped more than 42,000 people around the world get access to clean water, said Scott Harrison, founder of New York-based non-profit "charity: water", in a statement.

The impact AmazonSmile has made is far-reaching as it helps women and girls who wasted hours every day walking to collect dirty water have the chance to go to school or spend more time with their families, Harrison said.?