It returned a prototype iPhone -- said to have been found on the floor in a bar in San Jose, Calif. -- to Apple, Technology Web site Gizmodo has said.

The next generation iPhone it described in detail on Monday would be handed back to Apple as soon as Apple executives admitted the phone, in fact, belonged to them, Gizmodo said on Tuesday in an open letter to Apple.

Gizmodo Editorial Director Brian Lam had received a request from the company and that the phone had been returned, USA Today later reported.

It was interested in securing proof that it had a prototype Apple product, which would be a verifiable scoop in the technology community, especially given Apple's long-cultivated culture of product secrecy, Gizmodo further said.

Rumors have been circulating that Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs had personally called to get the phone back. Gizmodo said Apple Senior Vice President and General Counsel Bruce Sewell had made the request, asking for return of "a device that belongs to Apple," the newspaper further added. (With Inputs from Agencies)