Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference, Apple's chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer, said "we expect to open 35 to 40 [stores] this year, with a little over 10 coming outside the United States."

Apple currently operates its own retail outlets in the US, Canada, Japan and the UK. Plans have been approved for the first Australian store in Sydney, and but rumours about a Melbourne store turned out to be premature (but that's not to say they don't have some credence).

The ifoAppleStore web site, which tracks Apple's retail activities, tips Zurich (Switzerland), Paris (France), Glasgow (Scotland), Milton Keynes (UK - said to be the only city named after a poet and an economist) and Berlin (Germany), Rome (Italy) and Johannesburg (South Africa), along with possible stores in  China (take your pick from Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong).

"We're very selective and won't take a bad site," Oppenheimer added.

Apple Stores sell the company's own products and services including Macs and iPods, along with third-party accessories and software. They are noted for clean, uncluttered lines and the provision of expert advice from the Genius Bar.