Apple is preparing to open three new High Street stores in the UK and has begun recruiting staff for each location. The company has yet to announce the sites officially, but its situations vacant website lists the following locations: Arndale Centre, Manchester; West Quay, Southampton; and the Bentall Centre, Kingston.

The Bentall site is a new addition to Apple's UK retail plans, but the Manchester and Southampton premises both emerged in a leaked shop opening schedule we reported on back in March this year.

There are currently six UK AppleStores, in London's central Regent Street and Brent Cross Shopping Centre, in the Bluewater mall, in Birmingham's Bullring, in Sheffield's Meadowhall site, and Manchester's Trafford Centre.

The leaked list includes the Sapporo, Japan store Apple formally announced late last week. The Mac maker is also expected to open its first store in continental Europe this year, in Rome. Two new Canadian outlets and believed to be opened by the end of September, in Toronto's Sherway Gardens site, and Montreal's Le Carrefour Laval. ®