One of the prerequisites of launching a new handset in China is gaining approval from the government's State Wireless Inspection Center, which assigns frequency ranges to various carriers and manufacturers.

According to PCWorld, the iPhone was added to the list of approved handsets last month, which brings Apple's device one big step closer to a Chinese release.

A job posting was also made by Apple for a Beijing-based position overseeing 'iPhone training', which includes dealing with carrier partners.

A couple of sticking points remain, however. Handsets with wi-fi access now appear to be making it through China's stringent wireless approvals policy, but are required to comply to a local security protocol that's not currently compatible with the iPhone.

On top of this, the favoured carrier, China Unicom, is reportedly looking to pre-install non-Apple programs on the iPhone, which is generally something the manufacturer is against.

Presumably this is to address another issue with a Chinese iPhone release: the lack of desktop PCs among the public. In China, most users and gamers access the net through internet cafes, rather than owning their own expensive PCs, making it difficult to operate iTunes.

Apple appears eagre to launch the iPhone in emerging territories, however, and negotiations are continuing.