The Walkman was the world's first commercial personal stereo system and revolutionized how people listened to music.

Often cited as one of the greatest gadget inventions of all time it has been squeezed out by portable CD players and latterly the advent of digital rivals, most notably Apple's iPod.

Since its launch in 1979 around 220 million Walkmans have been sold worldwide and the ground-breaking, pocket-sized music player was cherished by a generation of joggers and teenagers.

While the last batch has already been produced for the Japanese market, Sony said it will continue making the device in China to accommodate a dwindling band of users in the US, Europe and some Asian countries.

George Boyd, a spokesman for Sony in Tokyo, said: "There is still demand in certain regions, including emerging markets, but in Japan there has been a shift to other forms of recording media."

The Walkman was dreamed up by Nobutoshi Kihara, an engineer in Sony's audio division, in response to a request from Akio Morita, the company's joint chairman, who wanted to listen to operas during his frequent long-haul business flights.

Initial public reaction to the Walkman was lukewarm but it took off when it was marketed at younger consumers.

Its popularity began to fade with the arrival of CDs and was further eroded by downloadable music and devices that can store thousands of songs, while also delivering better sound quality.

The retirement of the Sony Walkman in Japan was announced the day before the ninth anniversary of the release of the iPod.