Apple has broken with tradition and is offering some customers a SIM unlocked version of its iPhone.

A notice on Apple's web site states that consumers in Hong Kong can buy an unlocked 8GB iPhone for HK$5,400 (£385) or a 16GB version for HK$6,200 (£422).

Apple has not made much of a splash about the release, which goes against its usual region-locked policies.

"An iPhone 3G purchased at the Apple Online Store can be activated with any wireless carrier. Simply insert the SIM from your current phone into iPhone 3G and connect to iTunes 8 to complete activation," reads the information on the Hong Kong Apple Store pages.

No such information is present on the UK site, where buyers are limited to the O2 network.

Although Apple does not usually offer unlocked iPhones, a simple web search returns many 'how-to' guides for doing it yourself, a practice that any firm would be keen to discourage.

It is possible that Apple has started the process in Hong Kong, and will roll it out further. However, the firm currently has exclusive relationships with a number of carriers, which may make such a move difficult.