The Apple iPhone makes its European debut at the end of this week, launching in the United Kingdom and Germany on Friday, marking the first countries outside the US to officially get the phone.

For months, many had expected Apple to wade into the European mobile-phone market with a 3G iPhone, but virtually the same model that's available in the US will be presented to British and German users of O2 and T-Mobile's networks, respectively. The 8GB iPhone is going to cost 269 pounds in the UK and 399 euros in Germany, including VAT in both countries.

Sophisticated smartphones and fast 3G networks are the norm in much of Europe. Still, the combination of the touchscreen interface and the iPod capabilities should tempt some European consumers, though a success equal to the US is far from guaranteed.

Apple confirmed Thursday afternoon that OS X 1.1.2 will ship "to support the international launch of the iPhone" -- this is the one significant change from the US release.

The software update, which will presumably be delivered to all iPhone owners, is said to fix the TIFF image flaw that allowed the iPhone to be rehacked after the 1.1.1 update disabled third-party applications. It will also probably escalate the hacking wars by making the iPhone more impervious to both third-party applications and unlocking, the real source of consternation for Apple.

Later this month, France will be the third European destination for the iPhone, and Apple and Orange, the wireless carrier selected for France, will have to make a concession to the forces of unlocking. French law requires that carriers unlock phones if the customer requests it, and they have to let customers do that for free after six months.