Telefonica to distribute iPhone in 16 countries

Live scores from MLB.com can be seen on an iPhone during Steve Jobs' keynote speech at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, California on June 9, 2008.

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Telefonica said on Wednesday it will distribute Apple Corp's iPhone in 16 countries after reaching deal covering most of the Latin American countries where it is present and the Czech Republic.

"The 16 countries where we will distribute the iPhone have a market potential of 500 million people, making us one of the global leaders in the distribution of these revolutionary handsets," Telefonica Chairman Cesar Alierta said in a statement.

On Tuesday, Telefonica said it will start selling the iPhone in Spain from July 11. It already sells the phone in the UK and Ireland through its O2 unit.

Now, it will add the Czech Republic, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Telefonica will not have exclusive distribution rights in these countries, contrary to the position in Spain, UK and Ireland.

(Reporting by Robert Hetz; Writing by Joe Ortiz; Editing by Richard Hubbard)