Apple's new iOS 5 was only announced at the beginning of the week but already hackers have jailbroken it using a beta version installed on an iPod Touch.

Jailbreaking is the term used to describe the process of removing all access limitations on the device, imposed by the manufacturer - in this case, Apple.

A Twitter user, @musclenerd, confirmed the jailbreak last night - providing these pictures as proof. Note the presence of the Newstand and Reminders apps - announced as part of iOS 5.

The jailbreak was accomplished with the help of an exploit called limera1n and, according to physorg.com, any device jailbroken in this way must then be tethered to a computer every time it needs to be turned on.

However, as Endgadget reported:

"It's worth mentioning that limera1n is a bootrom exploit that Apple can't patch on the iPod touch through firmware alone. The real test of the Dev Team's wits will be an untethered jailbreak for the iPad 2."