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Sony has been instructed by United States authorities to recall thousands of Vaio laptop computers after numerous reports of overheating problems.

Around 500,000 laptops in Sony’s C and F series of laptops are affected, and Sony states that 260,000 in the United States, 103,000 in Europe, 120,000 in Asia and 52,000 in Japan will need to be fixed.

The American Consumer Product Safety Commission has stated that these computers could possibly overheat and potentially burn users, but Sony have claimed that any problem will be solved after downloading a software update, and that it was “not a recall.”

The problem only affects laptops sold from the beginning of 2010, and although there have been no reported burns or other injuries, Sony has said that it has had reports of laptop keyboards and cases being distorted due to overheating.

Nick Sharples, director of communications for Sony in Europe, told the BBC: "The word recall has been used by the CPSC in the States, but we are not calling it that.

"It is possible to update the firmware online, which will rectify the problem."

Editor Tim Danton, of computer magazine PC Pro, also spoke to the BBC and highlighted the need to take out laptop insurance cover. He said:

"Laptops are particularly susceptible to overheating; hardly surprising when you are cramming so much hot running hardware into such a small space. In 2008 Hewlett Packard recalled tens of thousands of their Pavilion laptops due to overheating issues."

Laptop recalls are nothing new, but if your laptop overheats and breaks down when no recall has been issued and any warranty has expired, a decent laptop insurance policy should have you covered.

This is not the first time that the technology giant has had to recall its products. In 2006, it recalled 100,000 batteries following overheating concerns. In some cases they were reported to have exploded. In 2008, a number of Vaio laptops worldwide were recalled due to faulty wiring.

Mr Danton added: "We don't yet know how many people are actually suffering from overheating issues, so we don't yet know how many people will actually return their laptops or patch their computer.”