Apple's iPad to go on sale in China on Friday

Apple said Monday that its iPad tablet computer will go on sale in China on Friday and will become available in "many more countries" later this year.

Apple stores and authorized retailers in China will offer the Wi-Fi model of the touchscreen tablet computer on Friday, Apple said in a statement.

The California gadget-maker did not say when the 3G-equipped version of the device will go on sale in China.

Apple said the 16-gigabyte version of the iPad will cost 3,988 yuan with the 32GB model selling for 4,788 yuan and the 64GB version for 5,588 yuan.

"iPad will roll out to many more countries later this year and Apple will announce availability and local pricing for these additional countries at a later date," Apple said.

Apple has released the iPad in more than a dozen countries. The iPad went on sale in the United States on April 3 and Apple sold more than three million in 80 days.

Wait times for the device have stretched into weeks in the United States but Apple last week promised that orders would ship within 24 hours, in a sign that supply of the devices was catching up to demand.

The iPad allows users to watch video, listen to music, play games, surf the Web or read electronic books. The cheapest iPad costs 499 dollars while the top model is priced at 829 dollars.