The iPhone 4 launches around the world

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Yesterday's iPhone 4 launch attracted large crowds, even by Apple's standards. Around 500 people flocked to the Apple Store on London’s Regent Street, all with only one objective: to get their hands on Apple's hot new handset.

Queuing up - sometimes days in advance - has become something of a tradition around major Apple launches.

But it's not just iPhone aficionados in the UK who are willing to go to any lengths necessary to get an iPhone on launch day.

At Manhattan's Fifth Avenue store, the queue encompassed an entire city block by the time the doors opened, with a large proportion having arrived more than a day in advance, even just to pick up pre-ordered phones.

High school student Evan Wiendczak from Boston had the distinction of being first through the door, having waited 48 hours for the privilege.

“I'll probably call my mother,” he was reported as saying when asked what he would do first with his shiny new toy.

In San Francisco, meanwhile, one person sold a place near the front of the line for $400, according to AFP, while another swapped their spot for an iPhone 4.

In downtown Chicago, the store handed out umbrellas complete with Apple logos to the brave souls who sat through severe thunderstorms through the night to make sure they kept their place in line.

Apple's flagship French store saw around 350 eager fans queuing up to get their hands on the new iPhone.

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