Sony recalls 440,000 Vaio laptops on overheating concern

Sony is recalling hundreds of thousands of its Vaio portable computers worldwide, citing a potential hazard that could cause them to overheat or short circuit.

The recall is for 74,000 machines in the United States, and 67,000 in Japan, although the number recalled worldwide is believed to be in the region of 440,000 after Sony received 15 reports of overheating, including one consumer who suffered a minor burn.

Sony said on its website that "the issue involves a small number of units which may overheat due to a wiring problem.

"Sony has initiated a voluntary program to perform a free inspection and, if necessary, a repair to ensure these units meet our high quality standards."

The company said the recall is for its VGN-TZ100, VGN-TZ200, VGN-TZ300 and VGN-TZ2000 series.

Sony has been dogged in recent years by recalls of laptop computer batteries, amid concerns they would overheat and catch fire. In 2006, Dell, Apple, Toshiba and some other PC makers recalled more than 8 million Sony batteries.