Some 68% of respondents in a Chinese survey have heard of the iPhone, though the high price -- US$500 was used in the survey -- could be a hurdle for Apple in the country of 565 million mobile phone users. The survey was conducted by Pearl Research though Apple has not announced plans for the iPhone in China, where many of gray market iPhones are already available.

The firm said that a $500 price tag was the most often mentioned reason for survey respondents to not be interested in the phone, though information released by the company to the media did not include the exact percentage of those surveyed who said they would not buy the device.

If the sample is accurate, 68% of respondents having heard of the iPhone is extraordinary in a market where Apple’s market share is tiny in computers and only marginally larger in the digital media device market. It speaks volumes about Apple’s ability to garner attention for its every move throughout the world.

That said, the survey also found that 88% of existing iPod owners were interested in the iPhone, demonstrating the power that getting Apple products in the hands of customers can have.

Other key points in the survey include the fact that surfing the Internet is not a key selling point in China, in part because of the high costs of data plans in the country. The survey also found consumer interest in the many iPhone knockoffs already being offered in China.

Pearl Research said the survey was conducted on 450 online survey respondents and 24 in-depth one-on-one interviews across both first-tier and second-tier Chinese cities.