LG Electronics is expected to begin selling its flagship long-term evolution smartphone Optimus G Pro in some 40 countries, the company announced Tuesday.

The Optimus G Pro has sold more than 1 million units since the world’s third-largest smartphone maker released it in Korea in February, making it the fastest-selling model LG has put out so far.

Within the third quarter of 2013, LG will start marketing the model in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the Commonwealth of Independent States, according to the company.

The Optimus G Pro this year received the Best LTE Device Award at the LTE World Summit 2013 held in Amsterdam in June, as well as a Red Dot Design award in March.

Equipped with 1.7 GHz quad-core Snapdragon S600 processor and a 13-megapixel camera, the Optimus G Pro is compatible with any LTE network in the world.

The 5.5-inch phablet is also built with Smart Video technology ― an eye recognition function that automatically detects the user’s eye motion when viewing videos.

“We’ve had positive consumer feedback for the Optimus G Pro both in Korea and the U.S.,” LG Electronics mobile chief Park Jong-seok said.

“From now on, the Optimus G Pro will officially target the global LTE smartphone market.”

LG Electronics owns the largest number of patents in the world on LTE Advanced-related technologies, according to recent data.

By Kwon Bum-joon (bjkwon@heraldcorp.com)