London, Aug 29 : An obituary of Apple founder Steve Jobs has been mistakenly published by the Bloomberg business news wire.

The obit, describing Steve Jobs as the man who ‘refashioned the mobile phone’ was published "momentarily" after a routine update by a reporter, and was "immediately deleted".

The 2,500-word piece contained blank spaces for Jobs’ age and cause of death to be inserted.

In the opening sentence Jobs was described as the man who “helped make personal computers as easy to use as telephones, changed the way animated films are made, persuaded consumers to tune into digital music and refashioned the mobile phone.”

It also included praise from rival Microsoft boss Bill Gates, along with the details of his rise from college drop-out to technology magnate, and a list of his family “survivors”.

Bloomberg, founded by New York mayor Michael Bloomberg later published a note acknowledging the story''s withdrawal.

“An incomplete story referencing Apple Inc. was inadvertently published by Bloomberg News at 4:27 p. m. New York time today,” the message read.

“The item was never meant for publication and has been retracted,” the message added.

Bloomberg spokeswoman said that this was a routine update of a biography by the obits department.

"This was a routine update of a biography by the obits department, meant for the internal system and not meant for publication,” the Telegraph quoted her, as saying.

"It was momentarily posted on the external wire, in error, and immediately deleted," she added. (ANI)