After another notebook caught fire at Los Angeles International Airport, Lenovo has no choice but to start a recalling program for its laptop batteries.

The Lenovo and IBM recall involves 526,000 Sony batteries sold with or sold separately to be used with some models of ThinkPad notebook PCs.

The latest recall, which will be paid for by Sony, has raised the number of Sony Lithium Ion batteries to be replaced by the company up to about 6.5 million, after similar Dell and Apple recalls.

The joint Lenovo and IBM recall announcement stated that the recall was being made “in the interests of public safety”. Lenovo has stated that it moved quickly to issue the recall after the Los Angeles International Airport incident was brought to attention and subsequent investigations.

“Lenovo has confirmed that these batteries can be subject to overheating, posing a potential fire hazard, and Lenovo is advising customers to check if they are using one of the affected batteries,” admits the notebooks manufacturer.

According to Lenovos’s estimations, between five and ten percent of ThinkPad notebooks sold during the period of February 2005 to September 2006 are affected by the recall.

Interested persons can obtain additional information by visiting this website.