The world's top smart phone maker said an investigation by Fire Investigations (UK) had stated that the Samsung device was not responsible for the cause of the fire, and that an "external energy source was responsible for generating the heat".

The new Galaxy S series, the strongest rival for Apple's iPhone, was launched in Europe in late May and in the United States last month.

A Dublin-based consumer posted comments and photos on a web site in June, saying his Galaxy phone had "exploded" while mounted on his car dashboard.

He wrote that while he was driving, "suddenly a white flame, sparks and a bang came out of the phone.

The South Korean electronics giant said it had contracted FI-UK, an independent British provider of consultancy services into fires and explosions, to determine the cause of the fire.

Samsung added it had provided FI-UK with several Galaxy S III phones, including the burnt smart phone, for a series of tests.

"Additionally, the investigation results state, ‘The only way it was possible to produce damage similarly to the damage recorded within the owner's damaged device was to place the devices or component parts with a domestic microwave,'" Samsung said on its official global blog (http://global.samsungtomorrow.com/?p=16161).

It also showed the unnamed user's latest comments posted on a web site, saying the phone had been recovered from water and the damage "occurred due to a large amount of external energy" which apparently was used to dry out the device.