Rumours have circulated in the media for the past year over Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ health concerns.

He’s been described as appearing gaunt and sickly at a number of public engagements but has continually denied that his health was in jeopardy.

Now an email has surfaced from the inner sanctums of the computer corporation outlining that Jobs is to take an extended leave of absence due to ‘health-related issues’.

“During the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought,” states the email.

“In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.”

Jobs also explains that the media attention toward his health has been “not only a distraction for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well”, however, he is adamant in the strength of Apple itself.

Tim Cook, the company’s COO and Jobs’ second in command, will be put in charge of Apple’s day to day operations and the corporation’s board of directors fully supports his plan.