JAKARTA, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Indonesia will drop water bombs and try to induce rain via cloud seeding next week in a bid to douse forest fires blanketing parts of Southeast Asia with choking smoke, officials said on Friday.

Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie said water bombs, each containing between 1,000 and 3,000 litres, would be dropped from military cargo planes in fire-ravaged areas on Sumatra and Borneo islands.

"Artificial rain can't 100 percent extinguish hot spots but it can minimise the number," Bakrie added.

The government would also handout leaflets reminding locals about the danger of clearing land using fires.

Bakrie said seven plantation companies were being investigated on suspicions they had used slash-and-burn methods to clear land.

It is illegal to carry out slash-and-burn land clearing in Indonesia, but prosecutions take it.

Bakrie told reporters Malaysia and Thailand had offered to help fight the fires.

Technology Minister Kusmayanto Kadiman, who was also at the news conference, said the operations would start on Monday.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered officials to step up efforts to tackle the problem, his spokesman said.

"We regret the fact that the haze has caused inconvenience to our neighbours. We have made a commitment that there should be no more haze this year," Dino Patti Djalal said.

Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that the fires would disappear in two years. His target is more optimistic than some other officials, who see the seasonal fires going on for years.

(Reporting by Muhamad Ari and Muklis Ali, writing by Ahmad Pathoni; ahmad.pathoni@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging; ahmad.pathoni.reuters.com@reuters.net; tel +6221 384 6364)