No smoke without wire as Dell laptops go up in flames

A statement on Dell's website said the company is "voluntarily recalling certain batteries that were sold for use with some models of Latitude and Inspiron notebook computers."

"These batteries can short circuit, even when the battery is not in use, potentially causing them to become very hot, release smoke and possibly catch fire."

The batteries were sold separately from the computers. In Europe the batteries were sold between 22 June and 4 October 2000.

The news is a major embarrassment for Dell, which strongly prides itself on its record for reliability. The company is offering two replacement batteries in exchange for each faulty battery returned, in a bid to placate angry customers.

On Tuesday Dell moved to quash speculation that the company was planning to fire more staff, in addition to layoffs already announced. Like other computer makers Dell has been badly hit by the downturn in the PC market.