A TV ad for Apple's iPhone has been banned by the UK's advertising watchdog for misleading consumers after it over-hyped the internet capabilities of the smart phone.

The ad showed the internet navigation prowess of the iPhone, with images zooming in on a weather forecast for Cape Town and a map of how to get to Heathrow airport.

"You never know which part of the internet you'll need ... which is why all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone," ran a voiceover.

The Advertising Standards Authority received two complaints that the claim was misleading because the iPhone did not support Flash or Java, which are both integral to many web pages.

Apple said the aim of the ad was to highlight how the iPhone can offer access to all websites, while many other handsets only offer lower-level access to WAP versions of sites or those selected by service providers.

The US technology giant said that Safari, the web browser the iPhone uses, was built to open internet standards.

Flash and Java technology were not open source, said Apple, adding that it could not ensure compatibility with "every third-party technology in the marketplace".

The company said none of the content in the ad was Java or Flash-based and that the line "all parts of the internet" meant website availability, "not every aspect of functionality".

Advertising pre-vetting service Clearcast said the ad had been given the green light for broadcast after a "demonstration and the advertiser's assurances".

However, the Advertising Standards Authority said that claims made by Apple implied that "users would be able to access all websites and see them in their entirety".

Because the ad had not explained the limitations of the iPhone, the ASA concluded that "the ad gave a misleading impression of the internet capabilities of the iPhone".

The ASA ordered that the TV ad must not be broadcast again in the same form.

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