[mrighele]

In the movies I never heard them being called laser blasters but only blasters (and in fact they don't behave as laser at all), though almost everybody I know consider them laser weapons. I don't know if this is a general issue or simply due to the fact that in my country "lightsabers" were translated as "laser swords".

There are lasers in fact , but are less common and bigger weapons. Death Star's weapon is the prime example of course, but there are also others (right now I remember a laser weapon looking like a rhasadar being used by the rebels during the battle of Hoth).