Google's rumoured Android 5.0 mobile operating system has reportedly emerged on a benchmarking website, alongside a new Sony smartphone, Digital Spy said.

The next version of Android, expected to be called Key Lime Pie, is rumoured to be a more significant step forward for the mobile software, after the recent Android 4.1/2 Jelly Bean iteration.

Google typically introduces its new Android generations alongside a big mobile device, and it appears that Sony may have secured a deal to become the next launch partner.

Benchmark results on the NenaMark site (via PocketNow) appear to show statistics for a Sony LT30i device running Android 5.0.

The phone - referred to as the "cousin to the LT30p Xperia T" - would most likely bear the Nexus branding used by Google for Android flagships if it materialises.

The results should be approached with caution, though, and could be a hoax, meaning it is far from definite that a Sony Nexus phone running Key Lime Pie is coming in the New Year.

But this comes at a time of increased speculation about a major new Sony Android device.

Sony has admitted that its smartphone products have not quite lived up to expectations, but also confirmed that it was working on a handset to rival Apple's iPhone 5 and Samsung's Galaxy S3.

Sony Mobile marketing chief Dennis van Schie confirmed last week that the as-yet-unnamed handset would run Android and could be unveiled at the CES trade show in January 2013.

Recently leaked on the internet, the Sony 'Yuga' phone is thought to have a 5-inch display and specs to compete with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. It is unclear whether this could be the Nexus device or something else entirely.