* Consumer reported "white flame, sparks and a bang"

* Samsung to launch Galaxy S III in South Korea on Monday

* Spokesman says initial probe finds no fault in phone

SEOUL, June 22 (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co said it was investigating reports that one of its flagship Galaxy S III smartphones exploded in a user's car in Ireland.

Samsung launched its latest Galaxy S, the strongest rival for Apple's iPhone, in Europe on May 29 and in the United States on Thursday. It plans to roll out the device in its lucrative home market in South Korea on Monday.

A Dublin-based consumer posted comments and photos on a web site on Wednesday (), saying his Galaxy phone "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."

"There's no confirmation it was a fault with the phone. It may actually have been caused by a combination of my car mount and my car's heating system," he added.

There have been other reports of Samsung smartphones overheating. In March, a Korean schoolboy reported that a spare battery for his Galaxy S II exploded in his back pocket. Samsung said then that the cause was massive external pressure or force.

On Friday, the company said it was still looking into the reported Irish incident. "Our initial investigation found no fault with the phone, but we'll conduct further investigations to decide the exact cause of the problem," spokesman James Chung said, adding the result of those investigations could be released as early as next week.

Heat issues have been reported with other devices. In March, influential consumer watchdog Consumer Reports said Apple's latest iPad tablet threw off a lot more heat than the previous version, lending weight to complaints on Internet forums that the device could get uncomfortably warm after heavy use.

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• 4.8-Inch Super AMOLED Display

  The screen is huge, up from 4.3 inches on the Galaxy S II. A 4.8 inch screen makes it one of the largest displays on a flagship phone there is. Compare with HTC's One X (4.7 inches), the Motorola's Droid Razr Maxx (4.3 inches), and Apple's iPhone 4S (3.5 inches). The resolution is 1280x720.

• S Voice

  Samsung introduces 'S Voice' on the Galaxy S III. To wake the phone up and activate the voice sensor, you simply say "Hi Galaxy!" and the phone wakes up; no need to push a button. Other voice commands, in addition to the stock ones in the Google Voice Actions catalogue: Using your voice, you can launch the camera and take a photo, turn the volume up and down, snooze the alarm (say "Snooze" as your alarm is going off -- dangerous!), and send texts and emails.

• Motion Detection

  If you're writing a text to someone, and then you raise the phone to your ear, the GS3 launches the telephone app and automatically calls the person you were texting.

• S Beam

  The Galaxy S III comes with an NFC chip that allows you to "bump" information like photos or video to other Galaxy S III owners by touching phones together, using a combination of the NFC technology and Wi-Fi Direct. With All-Share Cast, you can beam your screen to any DLNA-compatible television; All-Share Cast also allows you to share your screen onto anyone else's smartphone for document collaboration.

• Pop Up Play

  "Pop up play" will allow you to play a video anywhere on the screen while also performing other tasks, like checking your email or responding to texts. You can make the video window as large or small as you want. Here, you can see a YouTube video playing toward the bottom of the screen while a demonstrator prepares to search Google.

• Burst Shot

  The Galaxy S III's 8 megapixel camera comes with burst photography: Holding down the shutter will take twenty photos in a row; you can then choose the best photo and the phone will automatically erase the other 19. A similar function exists on the HTC One line of phones. An alternate function: The Burst camera can take 8 photos in a row and then automatically choose the best one, if you're too indecisive to choose on your own.

• Buddy Photo Share

  The photography software comes with smart facial recognition: When you take a picture of a friend, it can recognize their face and will prompt you to send that photo to that person's phone or email address.

• Smart Stay

  Essentially an eye recognition technology, the GS3 can sense when you are and are not looking it: When you are looking at your screen, the display will stay illuminated; when you stop looking at your phone, the display goes dark to save power. The feature can be toggled on and off, if you prefer to just let your screen time out.

• This Commercial

  Here's the first commercial for the Galaxy S III. At least, we think it's advertising the Galaxy S III. It might also be advertising a soap opera or Zach Braff film of some kind.