International multimedia news agency Reuters reports that the world’s number two handset maker Samsung Electronics Co. has launched a new version of its flagship smartphone Galaxy S in South Korea, a week ahead of its global debut next month. Samsung is projecting global sales of its smartphones to exceed 10 million this year, wrote Reuters.

According to Reuters, the local debut of the Galaxy S II comes early because Samsung is locked in a legal battle with Apple Inc. over alleged mobile technology patent infringements and design copy claims, as they compete for position in this growing smartphone market.

As per the report, the South Korean consumer electronics supplier said on Thursday that the company would roll out the new model to boost smartphone shipments to 60 million units this year globally from May through 140 operators in 120 countries.

JK Shin, Samsung’s head of its mobile division, told Reuters that the company aims to sell more than 10 million units of the new smartphone this year and is also targeting an over five-fold rise in sales of its Galaxy Tab tablets, wrote Reuters reporter Miyoung Kim.

Kim’s description of Galaxy S II smartphone indicates that the new model is slimmer and comes with a bigger display than the previous version. Plus, it uses company’s proprietary dual-core application processors. Meanwhile, Samsung has sold around 14 million units of the older Galaxy S, which was launched last June.

Since South Korea is one of the most lucrative markets for Samsung smartphones, the supplier has sold about 2 million Galaxy S handsets last year, one-fifth of the global total.

The new Galaxy S version, which is based on Google's Android operating system, will be sold in South Korea through operators SK Telecom, KT Corp and LG Uplus, wrote Kim.