Kyodo News

A Sony Corp. lithium-ion battery pack short-circuited in a Fujitsu Ltd. notebook computer, sending out sparks that burned the user's hand, a Fujitsu spokesman said Friday.

This is the first report by a Japanese computer maker of any kind of sparking or fire in a Sony battery domestically since the first round of recalls -- by Dell Inc. and Apple Computer Inc. -- began in August.

The incident occurred Tuesday night in the user's home while the battery was charging, Fujitsu spokesman Toshiaki Koike said. The computer was turned off at the time.

Fujitsu said it and Sony investigated the incident and determined the battery pack was to blame. Fujitsu, which began its Sony battery replacement program on Oct. 20, received the accident report Wednesday.