LONDON, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - Apple plans to hold a press conference Tuesday whose subject is a secret -- sparking intense speculation by telephone companies as to who will be named to distribute the iPhone in Europe.

The US computer and consumer electronics company sent invitations to journalists on Thursday with the line, "mum is no longer the word". Apple is known for shrouding its announcements in mystery.

After many weeks of guessing in the press, Apple is slated to announce its choice as to which companies will exclusively distribute its tactile-screen telephone, the iPhone.

Apple's European launch of their specialty telephone is programmed for the fourth quarter. The company is also the maker of the iPod MP-3 player, as well as Macintosh computers.

Financial Times Deutschland reported in August that Germany's T-Mobile, part of Deutsche Telekom, France's Orange (France Telecom), and Britain's 02 (owned by Spain's Telefonica) had snapped up commercial exclusivity of the iPhone in their respective countries.

An Orange official said on August 23 that "numerous operators" were already in discussions with Apple and that his company had not signed any agreement.

According to FT Deutschland, the three operators have already accepted to give Apple back 10 percent of all revenues generated by iPhone, which marks a return to the traditional relationship between mobile phone makers and the operators.

Apple's objective is to sell 10 million iPhones from now to the end of 2008, around one percent of the world's portable telephone market. Last week it announced it had sold one million iPhones in the United States, a little more than two months after launching the product.

The company recently lowered its original 599 dollar (430 euro) ticket price for its top-of-the-line model in the US to 399 dollars.