(Image source from: Mashable.com)

Amazon on Wednesday said that a website bug fortuitously exposed names and email addresses of some of its customers, however, Amazon declined to disclose the extent of the software error.

"We have fixed the issue and informed customers who may have been impacted," an Amazon spokesman said in response to an AFP inquiry.

According to the company, there was no breach of Amazon systems or its website, and passwords were kept safe. As a precaution, messages were sent to customers affected by the website bad luck letting them know their names and email addresses may have been disclosed by the Amazon website.

Amazon customers in the United States and Europe have reported receiving messages from the company, according to tech news website TechCrunch.

Related content: Flipkart Group CEO Binny Bansal Resigns over Personal Misconduct

The disclosure came on the point of the year-end holiday shopping season, with retailers online and in real-world shops offering "Black Friday" bargains pegged to the day after the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.

Amazon is the "undisputed e-commerce leader" in the U.S., with a 48 percent share of online sales here this year anticipated to equate to some USD 252 billion, according to analysts at eMarketer.

The market tracker forecast that total e-commerce sales in the U.S. would jump 16.6 percent to USD 123.73 billion this holiday season as compared with the same period earlier this year.

-Sowmya sangam