MERELY eight days after the global launch of the iPhone 3G, hackers have released a tool allowing users to install third-party programs not sanctioned by Apple.

Over the weekend, a group that calls itself the "iPhone Dev Team" unleashed a new tool called "Pwnage 2.0.1".

It enables unauthorised applications to be loaded on to the new iPhone.

In tech speak, the device was said to have been "pwned" - hacker jargon for 'controlled' or 'compromised'.

The news came a few days after a Brazilian company, DesbloqueioBr, said it managed to hack the iPhone 3G so it can be used on any mobile network without the need to sign up for plans with exclusive carriers.

The iPhone Dev team had played a key role in the global dissemination of the original iPhone, reported CNN.

They have released a series of tools that allow the device to implement third-party software.

By February this year, there are an estimated 800,000 to 1.5 million unlocked iPhones in the world, CNN added.

However, it is not clear whether the latest hack is going to have any significant impact.

For one thing, although it "jailbreaks" the new iPhone - meaning it enables the phone to run programs not authorised by Apple - it is not able to "unlock" it to run on unauthorised cellular networks. --AGENCIES

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