Many Chinese have heard of the iPhone from Apple, and would like to have one, however its high price is proving to be a barrier to purchase, according to a new study.

A survey conducted by Pearl Research, a market and consulting Services Company based in the U.S., showed that iPhone's price deterred many Chinese pursuing the iPhone despite their desire to have one.

The survey was conducted online and involved 450 respondents, with 24 in-depth individual interview questions.

Sixty eight percent of the respondents had heard of the iPhone but many admitted that they couldn't afford the US$500 for the iPhone which was used in the survey.

China is estimated to have about 565 million mobile phone users.

Apple hasn't formally announced plans to introduce the iPhone in China, but many mobile phone users already know about the iPhone.

According to the survey, 88 percent of the iPod users were very much interested in the iPhone revealing a great demand for Apple products.

Data plans are extremely expensive in China and the survey showed that surfing the Internet won't be a key factor for the marketing and selling of iPhones once introduced in China.

China Iphone Electronics Apple inc.