Apple is investigating reports that some of its iPhone and iPod devices have exploded, but regards the incidents as isolated, according to new reports.

Helen Kearns, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, told a news briefing today that Apple is aware of the reports, and had been asked to supply more information and to identify the member states in which the incidents occurred.

"Apple have come back to us, and what they've said is that they consider these are isolated incidents. They don't consider that there's a general problem," Kearns is reported by Reuters as saying.

"They're trying to get more information on the specific details of those incidents and they will do tests as necessary to investigate the possible cause. "

The incidents include reports of a teenager in France who said he was injured when his iPhone made a hissing noise and shattered, and a case in Liverpool earlier this month when a teenaged girl's iPod Touch overheated, jumping several feet in the air.