An advertisement for Apple's iPhone has been banned in Britain because it claimed incorrectly that the gadget allowed users to access all content on the internet, the advertising watchdog said on Wednesday.

The television advert showed a hand using an iPhone to browse a weather forecast, airport map, hotel information and stock market webpage.

Meanwhile, a voiceover said: "You never know which part of the internet you'll need... which is why all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone."

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) watchdog received two complaints in March from viewers who said this claim was misleading because the iPhone did not support Flash or Java.

Flash and Java are pieces of software installed on almost all personal computers which allow people to access internet applications such as multimedia, streaming video and interactive games.

The ASA upheld the complaints, saying the advert gave a "misleading impression" of the iPhone's internet capability because it had not explained these limitations.

Apple argued the advert aimed to highlight that the iPhone could access all websites, by contrast with handsets which only offered access to WAP (wireless application protocol) versions or sites selected by service providers.

The US firm believed it was clear the advert's reference to "all parts of the internet" referred to site availability, not to every function available on every website, the ASA said in a ruling on its website.

The advertisement was for the original version of the iPhone, not the 3G version released in July, an ASA spokesperson said.

AFP