Officially Unlock

I was presented an iPhone 4 in 2010 from a friend in US. I am in the Middle East and the sim does not work here, when i went to India too the same problem, the message invalid sim comes up.
On checking with my friend he said this was purchased by him from Amazon.com and he send me the details.

is there any way i can use it in the Middle east, i would want to use it where ever i go and officially unlock and do upgrades etc.

Its just used as a toy now, as i cannot use it

Do advice

 

i was told that it can be done by Apple , is that true? what is the best way i can find out

 

how do we find to which carrier in the US. is there a chance if we contact them or Apple they would help

 

if not mistaken i had shown this to a friend who uses an iPhone and he tried something but now it does not show the carrier. if i recollect the first time i think i saw as AT & T. is there any other way we can re-check , i mean since i do have the details send by my friend like the Amazon details

 

since im not quiet familiar with this stuff who is " SAM"

 

there was no sim card the box came and i opened it , there was nothing but a brand new phone :-(

 

so is this what we call a jailbreak or something?

 

Hi infact some one told me this and i myself contacted AT&T and told them my IMEI no. my friend purchased this from Amazon and send me the details of his online purchase. AT& T said they would check on it and reply its been about 10 days and i had called them back and they said wait for another 4-5 days, so i am keeping my fingers crossed and waiting. would there be a problem since the phone was purchased by my friend and gifted to me, his name would be the details for billing isn't it. thanks for your message.