Apple is introducing a voluntary recall of a series of batteries used on its Apple iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 notebook computers.

The company advises consumers to stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. The rechargeable, lithium-ion batteries with cells were manufactured by Sony for certain previous notebook computers only.

This recall affects about 1.1 million battery packs in the U.S., and an additional 700,000 battery packs were sold outside the U.S.

According to an advisory, these lithium-ion batteries can overheat, posing a fire hazard to consumers. Apple has received nine reports of batteries overheating, including two reports of minor burns from handling overheated computers and other reports of minor property damage. No serious injuries were reported to date.

The affected series are:

12-inch iBook G4, model #A1061, serial 3K429 through 3K611, 6C510 through 6C626 and ZZ338 through ZZ427

12-inch PowerBook G4, model #A1079, serial ZZ411 through ZZ427, 3K428 through 3K611

15-inch PowerBook G4. model #A1078 and #A1148, serial 3K425 through 3K601, 6N530 through 6N551 and 6N601

No other Apple notebook computers are involved in this recall. Those devices were sold through the Apple's online store, Apple retail stores , and Apple Authorized Resellers from October 2003 through August 2006.

Consumers should contact Apple to arrange for a replacement battery, free of charge. After removing the recalled battery from their iBook or PowerBook, consumers should plug in the AC adapter to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives.