Google's Engineering Vice President Vic Gundotra told an audience at the TechCrunch award ceremony that Google Voice is going to be coming to the iPhone in the near future.

This is in spite of Apple's previous decision to deny the app a place on the App Store.

Mr Gundotra seemed to suggest a determination within Google to make Google Voice available to iPhone users by any means possible, although quite what this will entail is a mystery.

Experts have speculated that this could involve an online version of the service, made available in a web browser, allowing Google to bypass official channels that have so far blocked a release on the iPhone as a self-contained app.

The main problem that Apple currently has with Google Voice is that if it were to be made available in its current form, it could potentially affect the user experience of the iPhone.

Apple is resolute in its belief that it can only ensure the success of the iPhone if it has complete control over every aspect of its user interface and software.