Jonathan 'Jony' Ive, the British designer of Apple's iPod, has been awarded a CBE in the New Year's Honours list.

The Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire ranks just below a knighthood and is awarded to individuals in recognition of their contribution and services to British interests.

Ive was born and raised in London before moving to California to work for Apple in 1992. He studied design at Newcastle Polytechnic, now known as Northumberland University.

Currently head of industrial design at Apple, Ive also pioneered the design of the iMac desktop computer and the Powerbook range of notebook computers, as well as the third-generation iMac which includes the computer in its flat-panel display.

Apple has sold almost 30 million iPods since the launch in 2001, with pre-Christmas sales expected to be in the range of 10 million.