Samsung has sold more than ten million Galaxy S3 smartphones, passing the milestone less than two months after it hit shelves.

According to the company's president for mobile communications, J-K Shin,  the handset is headed to the 40 million sales mark, by the end of this year.

Samsung had previously estimated that the hotly-anticipated Galaxy S3 would pass 10 million sales by August.

More than 190,000 Galaxy S3 handsets are believed to be sold each day, with the handset going on sale first in London at the end of May, and then following on across Europe, in Asia, and in North America.

The launch of 64GB variant later this year is expected to push the sales figure up further.

Samsung's announcement comes, as the global patent infringement dispute between the company and Apple is underway in Australia in a trial, that's scheduled to last for three months.

Apple has accused Samsung of copying the design and function of some of its tablet and smartphone devices while Samsung has counter-sued Apple for allegedly breaching patents related to wireless transmission technology.