Apple’s iPhone 3Gs, widely available in Russia on the black market, will be offered legally by at least two phone companies.

On Monday, Russia’s third-largest mobile-phone company, MegaFon, announced an agreement with Apple to start selling the iPhone 3G later that year. No further details were provided.

Late last week, Vimpelcom, another of the big three carriers in Russia, additionally announced an agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone 3G. A Russian business daily newspaper, Vedomosti, reported several days

ago that a deal had been made by Apple with the largest mobile-phone operator in Russia, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS). However, there has not yet been a formal announcement of an agreement with MTS.

Black Market Nears 700,000

Even before legal distribution, Russia is already one of the largest markets for iPhones in the world.

Some industry observers have estimated that monthly sales figures for unauthorized sales of iPhones are around 20,000, with […]

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