Cupertino: Apple Monday said it has sold over five million of its new iPhone 5 sets just three days after its launch Sep 21.

Demand for iPhone 5 exceeded the initial supply and while the majority of pre-orders have been shipped to customers, many are scheduled to be shipped in October, the company said in a statement.

iPhone 5 is available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the UK, and will be available in 22 more countries including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy and Luxembourg on Sep 28 and in more than 100 countries by the end of the year.

"Demand for iPhone 5 has been incredible and we are working hard to get an iPhone 5 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible," said Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive officer.

"While we have sold out of our initial supply, stores continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly and customers can continue to order online and receive an estimated delivery date," he added.

iPhone 5 is the thinnest and lightest iPhone and features a new four-inch retina display and an Apple-designed A6 chip.

It comes either in white and silver or black and slate, and is available in the US for a suggested retail price of $199, for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model and $399 for the 64GB model.

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