Wal-Mart employers released a rumor Monday, according to which the retailer will sell the iPhone in a week or two. Rumors began circulating on Apple-related blogs late last week that the retailing giant would have a low-end version of the still-hot gadget in stores by New Year's Eve.

There are also reports that Wal-Mart will be selling a $99 4GB version of the phone. According to a report in the San Jose Mercury News, Kim Nguyen, the cell phone department manager at the Milpitas, Calif., Wal-Mart, said an AT&T representative told her that her store would be getting such a model.

Now that people appear not to have as much money to spend, they're going to be extra careful not to waist it on a smart phone if they don't need one. And then there are all of those iPhone killers, including the Blackberry Storm, that run on networks that aren't AT&T, tempting smart-phone buyers. The $99 iPhone could be Apple's way to fight back.

Since the launch of the second-generation iPhone on July 11 to the end of September, Apple has sold 6.9 million units, making it one of the world's most popular phones. The iPhone 3G comes in two versions, with 8 or 16 gigabytes of memory. In the U.S., the regular price is $199 or $299, respectively.

Apple's iPhone has now 30 percent of the U.S. smartphone market and almost 17 percent of the worldwide market, second only to Nokia. If Apple will really launch a $99 iPhone, the company might end up dominating the smartphone market.

Wal-Mart officials may not be ready to announce that it will be the second retailer after Best Buy to offer Apple's iPhone, but its ads have been touting Wal-Mart as the place to go for brand-name electronics. The company also sells more than 80 iPhone accessories on its Web site, including color cases, screen-protecting films, and iPhone chargers. Wal-Mart, which has 7,391 outlets, would be the iPhone's biggest U.S. retail stage yet for its smartphone.

Ashley Hardie, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said Monday, "We have made no official announcement on offering the iPhone at Wal-Mart" and offered no further comment. An Apple spokesman said he had no comment on any rumors or speculation.

Moreover when asked about the prospect of a 4GB version that would sell for $99, most Wal-Mart employees said they either had not heard of such a model or that Wal-Mart would not be carrying that particular model.

Sadly, at the same time, MacRumors is reporting that feedback from Wal-Mart staffers currently training to sell the devices leads it to believe the $99 iPhone rumor is "unlikely." Specifically, the report notes that those employees have received documentation on a single 8GB model that will sell for $197, but nothing to suggest a 4GB model will be available.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. would be the second independent retail chain after Best Buy Inc. to sell the phone. The phone is also sold at Apple and AT&T Inc. stores.