So purchased a cheap webcam from Trademe which is supposed to have "InfraRED Night Vision", it has the usual 6 leds on the front.  Now I would have assumed at the time I bought this that these would be IR leds and not visible light.  But they output visible light (dimmed by a light sensor on the top). 

I thought maybe there was an "anti-supid-people-complaining" visible white led in behind them, but some disassembly shows the light definately eminates from the only 6 leds.

I suspect it's probably another of those "everybody wants it, nobody really needs it, so we'll fake it" chinese products.