It also confirmed that the 16 GB version had already sold out online.

The website for new or existing O2 customers to get their hands on the latest Apple iPhone with 3G connectivity when it is launched in the UK this Friday went live at 8am on Monday.

An O2 spokeswoman told IT PRO she did not have any figures on how many customers successfully registered an order before “the site was not able to cope with the exceedingly high demand.”

“Although we were prepared for high demand, we’re working to get the site back up as soon as possible,” she added.

But she also echoed the “temporarily unavailable” notice currently greeting those eager to buy or upgrade to the new iPhone through the O2 online shop by recommending they get down to their nearest O2 store early from 8.02am this Friday 11 June.

O2 has split its 3G iPhone stock evenly between its stores and web shop. But it maintains it will be able to meet demand in-store on Friday.

Firstly, the long awaited iPhone 3G will finally make its way into the grubby paws of the eagerly waiting techno hordes.

Secondly, the device will feature Apple’s shiny new 2.0 software, which the company promises will turn the iPhone into a fully fledged business device, complete with Microsoft Exchange support and full compliancy with corporate security requirements.

And thirdly, the App store is arriving, so owners will be able to purchase nifty new, Apple-approved software direct to their handset.

The buzz certainly seems to have started, with reports that the pre-order site on the UK O2 web site went down on Monday morning under the pressure of pre-orders. By the time people were able to get through, all they got was an ‘out-of-stock’ message.

Meanwhile over in New York, where they have a tendency to take things just that little bit further, there is already a group of people waiting in line outside the Apple Store.

Initially, it seemed the group simply wanted to break the world record for waiting in line to buy a product, though afterwards it turned out they were a publicity seeking environmental collective who wanted to use the hype to promote an ‘agrico-political’ agenda – hippies, I think they used to be called.

Anyone who has already registered their interest in the iPhone with O2, will be notified soon with details of how they can place an order. Again O2 is prepared for demand to outstrip supply; orders will be dealt with on a first-come, first-served basis.

According to RBC Capital Markets, demand for the 3G iPhone is “unprecedented”, with 56% of those who plan to buy a smartphone opting for the Apple handset. A further 25% suggested that they were not averse to buying one sometime in the future. Both figures increased sharply from RBC’s March survey, conducted before the 3G iPhone was unveiled.

Apple has taken delivery of 188 shipping containers of a product type never before declared on its transport documents. ImportGenius, a website that tracks US Customs’ records of ocean containers entering US ports, says that that containers have been arriving since mid-March, labelled “electric computers”.

ImportGenius’ Ryan Petersen said that the new label suggests that Apple is gathering supplies of the rumoured 3G iPhone, which Apple chief executive SteveJobs is widely expected to unveil next month.

“They have never before reported this product on their customs declarations,” said Petersen in a post on the ImportGenius blog. “The fact that they are importing millions of units, combined with dwindling stocks of the first generation of iPhones, clearly supports the … predictions.”

He adds that overer the last few months shipments of “desktop computers” and other devices have not declined, indicating that the “electric computers” represent a new product for the company rather than a simple renaming for their Customs declarations.