Apple has received formal government approval to sell its much-anticipated iPhone in the US, just a day after a bogus email, dubbed "Applegate", wiped $4bn from the company's stock market value.
Federal Communications Commission approval means the iPhone complies with various government regulations and paves the way for the sale of the device across the US from late June.
Apple's share price rose to near its highest ever value of $109.70 yesterday afternoon in the US following the announcement.
But earlier yesterday technology blog Engadget published what it claimed was an internal email from Apple that stated the iPhone launch would be delayed until October and that the Leopard operating system would be delayed until January 2008.
Six minutes after the post, Apple's share value had sunk to $103.42, cutting Apple's company value by $4bn.
Several Engadget users questioned the story immediately and nearly two hours after the original fake email was circulated, Apple sent a further internal email confirming the fake communication was not sent by the company.
Apple also confirmed the iPhone was still scheduled to ship in late June, with Leopard to follow in October.
Engadget writer Ryan Block defended his decision to publish the fake email, saying it came from a trusted source who believed it to be genuine.
He decided to publish despite not getting a response from Apple PR, and described internal memos as "solid gold" for a reporter.
"Given the nature of that news, we felt we had an obligation to inform people that Apple had sent out an internal memo in preparation of a delay in the iPhone and Leopard," wrote Block.
"And so I ran the story; I believe most people in my place would have done the same."
Although he said the Engadget site had "learned a serious lesson", Block said Apple may need to ask how its internal email system was apparently compromised.
"No amount of vetting and confirming sources can account for what happens when a corporate memo turns out to be fraudulently produced and distributed in this way," he added.
Mike Arrington, an influential technology blogger, wrote that Applegate would become an important footnote in the evolution of the news business, and that Engadget had handled the situation professionally.
"The fact is that big blogs now have an incredible amount of power to move information quickly, and influence people more broadly than ever before.
"I'm not sure we [bloggers] understood quite how much influence we really had until yesterday," Arrington said.
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