Steve Jobs's obituary was mistakenly put online by Bloomberg business newswire and sent out to thousands of clients.

The obituary was marked 'Hold for release – Do not use', but was still sent out. It contained glowing praise from Jobs's Microsoft rival Bill Gates.

"In terms of an inspirational leader, Steve Jobs is really the best I've ever met," Gates said in January 1998, when asked to name the chief executives he most admired.

"He's got a belief in the excellence of products. He's able to communicate that."

The obituary also contained praise for Jobs from Steve Wozniak, taken from comments he made last week at the Intel developer Forum.

Bloomberg acknowledged the mistake in an email.

"An incomplete story referencing Apple was inadvertently published by Bloomberg News at 4:27pm New York time today," the message read. "The item was never meant for publication and has been retracted."

The slip has prompted some Apple followers to wonder if the release is in any way related to fears about Jobs's health.

Jobs was diagnosed and successfully treated for a cancerous tumour on his pancreas in 2004, but his recent weight loss has caused some concern that he may have further health problems.