Acer laptop computer. (FilePhoto)

PhotoGallery>>>BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhuanet) -- One of the world's largest computer maker Acer Inc. announced a recall on Wednesday for 27,000 PC batteries which may overheat and cause a fire, despite itclaimedits laptop PC users do not need to replace any batteries six months ago.

The recall is being made in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The announcement followed a number of high profile laptop PC battery recalls related to Sony-made cells. The recalls started with Dell Inc. last August, and continued on to nearly every major PC vendor in the world, including Lenovo Group Ltd. and Sony Corp. itself.

Acer is the latest company to warn of faulty Sony-made lithium-ion batteries. Up to now, over 9.6 million laptop PC batteries have been recalled.

No users have reported problems with overheating batteries in Acer laptops, the company said, but it is still working with the consumer agency to conduct the voluntary recall.The company hasprovided a list of TravelMate and Aspire brand notebook PCs sold in the U.S. between May 2004 through November 2006 that contain faulty batteries.

A Web site set up for the battery recall lists affected laptop models which contains the TravelMate series with 4-digit model numbers beginning with 242, 320, 321, 330, 422, 467, 561, C20, and the Aspire series beginning with model numbers 556, 560, 567, 930, 941, 980 and offers users instructions about how to replace the battery.

Customers should stop using the recalled batteries immediately, Acer said, and use their AC adapter and power cord until a free replacement battery arrives after contact the company.

(Agencies)