Customers of Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) will be among the first in Asia to have access to Apple’s newest iPhone, Southeast Asia’s largest telco said Tuesday.

The iPhone 3G — for third-generation mobile networks — will come to Singapore “later this year,” SingTel said in a news release.

On Monday, Apple unveiled the new version of its popular iPhone built for high-speed wireless networks with faster Internet access and more features for business users.

Apple will begin rolling out new versions of the sleek smartphone devices July 11 and make them available in 70 countries. The first-generation iPhone is available in six countries.

The eight-gigabyte iPhone 3G will be half the price of its predecessor and work twice as fast, according to Apple.

Apple’s chief executive Steve Jobs said iPhone’s second-generation software will let business users send and receive Microsoft Exchange email, in a direct shot at rival BlackBerry, made by Canada-based Research In Motion.

The original iPhone was launched on June 29, 2007, and set off a global buying frenzy.

Jobs said Apple has sold six million iPhones and predicts the company will sell 10 million by the end of this year.