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The global launch of Apple's new iPhone descended into chaos yesterday as a glitch in the company's computer system meant that tens of thousands of customers were left unable to activate their devices.

The US, the UK and Canada were among the countries where customers were affected by a problem with Apple's website which meant they could not download a new version of iTunes, the software through which the iPhone connects to an owner's computer.

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As customers got their hands on the new device and discovered their phones would not work, technology blogs began filling with a furious backlash. Gizmodo, the gadget blog, called the event an 'iPocalypse'.

Early yesterday morning, scores of UK customers who queued through the night to buy Apple's new iPhone when it went on sale were left disappointed after a separate computer problem prevented them from registering with O2, the exclusive carrier.

At Apple’s flagship Regent Street store in London, dozens of customers were forced to wait at least two more hours when the registration software operated by O2 failed.

At hundreds of O2 stores staff resorted to pen and paper to register customers desperate to get their hands on the updated phone which offers much faster access to the internet and a host of new applications.

Customers who buy the iPhone must register with O2 - the exclusive network carrier in the UK - at the same time because the device is bundled with a phone contract.

Eventually Apple staff at Regent Street were able to start signing up customers, but by mid afternoon it became clear Apple's website was struggling to cope with the influx of new iPhone owners requesting to download software.

The UK-based website www.phonesreview.co.uk ran a story titled 'Apple Truly Stitch Us Up: No iPhone 3G Handsets Are Killed' which attracted comments such as "Now myself and countless other iPhone users are ghoing to be phoneless," and "How can a company like Apple not be prepared for something like this?!?"

Even sites that are normally favourable to Apple, such as MacDailyNews were gloomy. "Massive demand affects Apple's iTunes Store," it wrote.

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