I used to be heavy into Electric RC helis and we use to have countless safety thread on the usage and charging of Li-po's. While they kick but as far as power is concerned they are extremely dangerous. They can even explode on their own sitting in your desk. Anyways here are some cool vids of lipo's blowing up, and if your considering working with a lipo project I would check out the lipo charging bag hobby guys sell.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lipo+explode&search_type=&aq=f

 

This isn't the same as a Lithium Ion battery...is it?

Regards, DPW [ Spent years making heaters out of op-amps]