News 

The first opened in a shopping centre in the country's capital Beijing, with around 85 people waiting overnight in specially provided accommodation in an adjoining unit. That had swelled to 400 when the store opened in the morning.

Apple's vice president of retail Ron Johnson revealed that a second store in Beijing is already planned, with more to come in "Shanghai and beyond".

The store is Apple's 219th in seven countries, China joining the US, UK, Canada, Japan, Italy and Australia.

Apple products are not cheap in China: a 32GB iPod touch costs 30% more than in the US. What the iPhone will cost remains to be seen. There may be as many as one million unlocked handsets in the country, but Apple has yet to strike a deal with China Mobile, which runs an incompatible 3G network and is thought to be unhappy with the phone's Wi-Fi capability.