If you're unfamiliar with Apple's iAd platform and got over excited after reading the headline thinking that some next-generation touchscreen calculator was going to be the next launch out of Cupertino, then we've got some bad news for you.

iAd is, in fact, Apple's mobile advertising network that works within your iOS 4+ apps. And it's coming to the UK in December. It's been live in the States since July.

iAd will launch with selected advertising partners including L’Oréal, Renault, Louis Vuitton, Nespresso, Perrier, Unilever, Citi, Evian, LG Display, AB InBev, Turkish Airlines and Absolute Radio.

“We’re thrilled to add leading global brands to the iAd Network in Europe and create even more great opportunities for developers”, said Andy Miller, Apple’s vice president of iAd.

“In just four months, we’ve doubled the number of advertisers on the network and thousands of developers now have a valuable new source of revenue”.

“As the world leader in the beauty business, L’Oréal aims to create the most meaningful connections between its brands and its customers, so iAd was a natural choice”, said Marc Menesguen, L’Oréal’s head of strategic marketing. “We’re thrilled by the quality, the interactivity and the depth of iAd’s user experience, giving us an unparalleled opportunity to reach and serve the most engaged and discerning customers at the digital forefront of beauty, hence our choice of Lancôme to lead our iAd campaign”.

Apple's European assault begins in the UK and France in December, and will make its way to Germany in January.