Apple said today that it will look into charges made in a newspaper article that its iPod Nano portable music players were being made in sweat-shop-style factories in mainland China.

The allegations center on a factory that makes iPod Nanos.

In a statement provided to MP3.com, the company said, "Apple is committed to ensuring that working conditions in our supply chain are safe, workers are treated with respect and dignity, and manufacturing processes are environmentally responsible. We are currently investigating the allegations regarding working conditions in the iPod manufacturing plant in China. We do not tolerate any violations of our supplier code of conduct."

The charges, which first surfaced in the print edition of the London-based Mail on Sunday newspaper, accused Taiwanese manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry of operating a factory in Longhua, China that pays workers just $50 per month, about half of what another electronics maker pays its workers who assemble other iPods.

The article said the workers, mostly young women from rural areas of China, work 15-hour shifts and pay as much as half their monthly wages for room and board expenses. It also claimed that outsiders are banned from visiting the dormitories in which the workers live.

According to Apple's policy, "suppliers must pay wages, benefits, and overtime to workers in accordance with applicable laws, including those related to minimum wages, overtime, hours, and legally mandated benefits. Suppliers may not discriminate based on race, color, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, political affiliation, or marital status. The basis on which workers are being paid must be clearly conveyed to them in a timely manner."