Some leaked pictures of the Samsung Galaxy S3 have emerged on the internet amid much speculation about possible launch of the new version.

A picture of Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone covering the current Galaxy S2 has appeared on the line showing how big the new version of the smartphone will be from the popular earlier version. A Hong Kong based website shows that the S3 is just slightly larger than the S2.

The picture also shows that the device will have a home button on the edge of the smartphone. The screen of the new version is likely to be bigger than the 4.3in of the S2. According to reports, the device features a 4.6 or 4.8-inch non-Pentile 720p AMOLED display, a dual-core or quad-core processor, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with a new version of Samsung’s TouchWiz interface.

A report suggests that the smartphone’s Verizon USA version might feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor. The new smartphone is likely to be launched this coming Thursday at an invite-only event in London.

More than 20 million copies of the existing Galaxy S2 have been sold since its launch in April 2011. Experts say that Samsung series of devices has helped boost growth and surpass Nokia to become the world's largest mobile phone maker.