RadioShack has confirmed availability of Apple’s iPad 2 at multiple stores across the US, though getting the elusive tablet from the giant electronics retailer comes with a mandatory purchase of Apple’s protection plan (AppleCare), according to reports.

For iPads, AppleCare extends your service and support coverage to two years from the date you purchased your iPad, Apple says on its website.

Customers get repair coverage for the tablet itself, the battery, and even the included USB cable and power adaptor, and they enjoy direct access to Apple experts for questions related to the operating system.

The service also extends to iPad applications, albeit only to those developed by Apple itself, as well as to syncing with iTunes, and connecting to wireless networks.

iLounge now claims to have learned that RadioShack is requiring buyers of a second-generation Apple tablet to fork out an additional $79 for purchasing AppleCare Protection Plan.

A RadioShack sales associate reportedly said that AppleCare was required with an iPad 2 purchase as it was the only way Apple would allow the retailer dish out the devices.

The actual reasons for tying AppleCare to an iPad 2 bought at RadioShack, however, remain a mystery.

But RadioShack isn’t the only iPad 2 seller that doesn’t just hand customers the tablet, kicking them out the door.

Reportedly, other stores are tying the iPad 2 purchase to an accessory.

In the U.S., iPad 2 starts at $499 for the base, WiFi model with 16GB of on-board storage, and goes up to $829 for the high-end 3G-capable version with 64GB of memory.

Recently launched Internationally, the iPad 2 is rapidly becoming available in every corner of the world.

The last shipments went to Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK on March 25.

Apple has delayed the tablet’s launch in Japan, and plans to release it in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and additional countries in April.