AFP

Tokyo: Computer manufacturers are recalling 100,000 laptop batteries made by Sony Corp after 40 incidents of overheating, the Japanese electronics giant said today.

Some users reported smoke or flames. Four of the incidents resulted in minor skin burns while 21 of the cases caused damage to property, Sony said.

Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba and Dell are involved in the global recall.

Sony said the defect appeared to have been caused by a problem with a production line during October 2004 and June 2005. Its own VAIO notebook computers are not affected by the recall.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission said that about 32,000 batteries were being recalled voluntarily in the United States, mostly by Hewlett-Packard.

It said consumers should stop using the recalled products immediately because they can overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers.

Toshiba spokeswoman Yuko Sugahara said that about 14,400 of its laptops worldwide would be affected by the recall.

In 2006 Sony was hit by recalls of almost 10 million of its batteries for laptop computers because of fears they could catch fire, burning a deep hole in the Japanese giant’s profits.