Apple has apologised for a "deeply offensive" iPhone application called Baby Shaker, which made a game of quieting crying babies by shaking them.

苹果为iPhine里一款名为“Baby Shaker” 的“令人不愉快的”游戏向公众道歉，这款游戏通过摇晃iPhone来使哭泣的婴儿安静下来。

All iPhone applications are supposed to be vetted¹ by Apple

It removed the $0.99 (£0.59) game from its iTunes Store on Wednesday, two days after it went on sale.

It sparked outrage²（暴行，侮辱） from children's groups and brain injury foundations.

The aim of the game was to quiet babies by shaking the iPhone until a pair of thick red Xs appeared over each eye of a baby drawn³ in black-and-white.

"This application was deeply offensive and should not have been approved for distribution on the App Store," Apple said in a statement.

"We sincerely apologise for this mistake and thank our customers for bringing this to our attention."

But an Apple spokeswoman would not comment on why the programme - developed by a company called Sikalosoft - was approved for sale in the first place, nor how many people had downloaded it.

Campaigners' dismay（沮丧）

The iTunes description included the line: "See how long you can endure his or her adorable（可爱的） cries before you just have to find a way to quiet the baby down!"

It also included a disclaimer（免责声明）: "Never shake a baby."

Officials from Sikalosoft were not available for comment.

US-based organizations which seek to prevent brain injuries from Shaken Baby Syndrome⁴ (SBS) - including the National Centre on Shaken Baby Syndrome and the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation - condemned⁵ Apple for approving the game's sale.

Jetta Bernier, executive director of Massachusetts Citizens for Children, said: "I am disheartened（沮丧的） that with this new application Apple is encouraging frustrated⁶ adults to shake infants, not only to end their crying, but to end their lives.

"There are many effective infant soothing⁷（安慰的） strategies that adults can use to calm their fussy⁸（难取悦的，易烦恼的）, crying babies. Shaking is not one of them," the Daily Telegraph reported.

The outrage over Baby Shaker came as California-based Apple celebrated⁹ the one billionth download from its App Store, which was launched just nine months ago.