Lenovo and IBM are recalling 526,000 notebook batteries worldwide following reports of a potential fire risk. 

As with the batteries recalled last month by Dell and Apple, the Lenovo batteries were manufactured by Sony.

The recall comes nearly two weeks after a report of a Thinkpad notebook catching fire at a Los Angeles airport. The computer maker boasted in a press release that it had acted "swiftly" on the incident. 

The affected batteries were sold separately as well as bundled with new T, X and R series Thinkpad notebooks between February 2005 and September 2006.

The recall affects five to 10 per cent of all the notebooks that Lenovo sold in that period.

Lenovo has released a software utility that helps users to determine whether their battery is affected by the recall. The company promises to replace the batteries free of charge.