Xah Lee, 2011-01-28
Unicode version 6 is released in 2010-10.
This version adds 2088 chars. One thing interesting is that it adds about 608 emoticons, with names such as GRINNING CAT FACE WITH SMILING EYES 😸. You can see them at: U60-1F600.pdf.
Unicode 6's emoji (Japanese emoticons)
Apparently, emoticons are widely used in Japan in mobile phones, and it's called Emoji. There's a FAQ about it here: Emoji and Dingbats @ unicode.org emoji dingbats.
See also Emoticons for history and rich variations.
Unicode 6 is nice in that it added many symbols i was looking for but unable to find. I think the following are all from Unicode 6:
ok, thumb up, thumb down, fist 👌 👍 👎 👊
The official site for Unicode 6 is at http://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode6.0.0/.