A map provider for the iPhone 5 yesterday rejected online claims that its application marked China's Diaoyu Islands as Japanese territory.

AutoNavi Information Technology Co, a Chinese company responsible for the map app that comes with the iPhone 5, said it listed the Diaoyu Islands as Chinese territory and uploaded screenshots to prove it.

Its announcement came after some microblogs claimed that the iPhone 5's app marked the islands as belonging to Japan.

A poster in Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province called for a boycott of the iPhone 5 until Apple explained the map issue. His post encouraging a boycott had been forwarded more than 6,600 times by last night.

But many people raised doubts as they said the product had not yet hit the market and people spreading the rumor had no evidence to back the story.

Yang Yongqi, a senior official with the map provider, told the People's Daily website yesterday that all the company's maps, including the iPhone 5 app, marked the Diaoyu Islands as Chinese territory.

"There's nothing to indicate that the iPhone 5 has given the islands to Japan," Yang said.

Yang said the company's maps could be published only after they were seen and checked by Chinese authorities.

An official from China's information technology ministry said they could not comment as they had not yet received a network access application for the new Apple product.