LG Electronics has revealed its plan to release the "Chocolate" phone (LG-KG800) in Europe, sometimes around May 2006.

The slider phone has met great popularity since its release in Korea last November, over 300,000 models having been sold until now. The handset combines style with functionality and has gained two prestigious design awards - iF Design Award and Red dot Design Award for its unique style and user interface. LG-KG800 is the first mobile to feature a touch keypad, which glows red when used.

Simon Hahm, President of Europe Business Division of Mobile Communications Company of LG Electronics stated: "We strive to make all of our products look great, and with our Premium Series we have raised the bar in terms of style and technological innovation. As the world's first mobile phone featuring a touch keypad, the LG Chocolate phone breaks the mould in how handsets look and feel without compromising on functionality."

LG is one of the biggest phone producers worldwide, especially due to the CDMA phones, which are very popular in America. Now they are trying to expand their sales in GSM markets to come to a better understanding of what consumers want. It remains to be seen if the European version of the "Chocolate" phone (which differs slightly from the Korean version) will report the same success as it did in Korea.

LG wants to launch the model quickly before other competitors could copy the design.