With rumors making rounds that Apple has scheduled a very special event for September 12, recently-released Experian Hitwise statistics have revealed that the search traffic for the much-anticipated `iPhone 5' has skyrocketed of late.

According to the Experian Hitwise data, even though there has been a rise in search variations on `iPhone 5' all through the year, the week which ended August 18 witness a peak in iPhone 5-related searches, which jump a staggering 128 percent over the previous week searches for the handset.

The searches were not merely confined to `iPhone 5,' since an increasing number of Internet users also reportedly searched the Web for details pertaining to the `leaked iPhone 5', after rumored pictures of the next-generation iPhone surfaced online.

Furthermore, the iPhone 5-related searches also included searches about the features, specifications, rumors, and expected cost of the forthcoming iPhone; with search engines also apparently handling a substantial number of queries about whether or not the handset will be sold by Sprint.

Going by the Experian Hitwise figures, the Yahoo main homepage, Yahoo News, and iPhone5Release. org - the website dedicated to iPhone 5 rumors - were the main sites which reaped the maximum benefit from the recent bump in iPhone 5-related searches.

While the two Yahoo sites saw an increase of 772 percent and 161.5 percent respectively in the number of week-over-week searches for iPhone 5, the iPhone5Release. org website witnessed a 400 percent jump in search clicks for the week ending August 18.