NEW YORK (Reuters) - Japan's Sony Corp has launched a voluntary recall of 438,000 Vaio portable computers, citing a potential hazard that could cause the machines to overheat or possibly burn a user.

It is one of the biggest computer recalls since 2006 when Dell Inc recalled 4.1 million notebook computer batteries because they could overheat and catch fire.

Sony's recall affects 72,800 computers in the United States, a Sony spokesman said on Thursday.

Sony received 15 reports of overheating, including one of a consumer who suffered a minor burn, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission said.

The flaw, in Sony's VGN-TZ100, VGN-TZ200, VGN-TZ300 and VGN-TZ2000 series computers, is related to "irregularly positioned wires near the computer's hinge and/or dislodged screw inside the hinge" that can cause a short circuit and overheat, the agency said.

"This poses a burn hazard to consumers," the agency added. "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."

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 Inc, Lenovo Group Ltd, Toshiba Corp and some other PC makers recalled more than 8 million Sony batteries.

Sony declined to comment on the potential cost it will incur to repair the computers.

Shares of Sony trading in the U.S. dipped 2.4 percent to $36.75 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday afternoon. The shares are down more than 30 percent so far this year.

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(UPI) - The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of 2007 Rossignol HC snowboard bindings due to an injury risk. The T-nuts that attach the buckles to the straps on the bindings can detach, possibly leading to injury, CPSC said.

About 3,500 pairs of bindings, made in China for Rossignol Ski Co., of Park City, Utah, were sold at sports stores from August 2007 through May 3008 for between $100 and $150.

The recall involves models HC 750, HC 1000, HC 2000, HC 3000, HC Mini, HC Amber, HC Diva, HC Harmony, HC Sonar, HC Zena and Jones Brown, CPSC said.

Consumers were advised to stop using the snowboard bindings and return them to a Rossignol retailer for an inspection and, if necessary, free T-nut replacements.

Consumers can call Rossignol at 888-243-6735 for information.

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TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's trade ministry said on Tuesday that three fires had been caused by overheating Apple iPod nanos, which it said could be due to a battery defect.

No one was injured in the three fires involving the music players made by Apple Inc but the government said in a statement Apple had reported two other cases where people had suffered minor burns.

Apple officials were not immediately available for comment but the ministry said the firm had said a possible defect in iPod nano battery cells could have caused them to overheat.

The trade ministry said iPod nanos with known overheating incidents were sold in Japan between September 2005 and September 2006.

A semi-governmental body specializing in product safety will look into the cause of the incidents in cooperation with Apple, a trade ministry official said.

"We are not in the position to speculate on the outcome of the investigation. But after several incidents like these, it would be appropriate for Apple to take some measures to raise the public's awareness," the official said.

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