In this letter, we report on laser light emission, in the red spectral range, of electrically pumped self-assembled InP quantum dots which were embedded in a microcavity structure realized by monolithically grown highly reflective AlGaAs distributed Bragg reflectors. Common semiconductor laser processing steps were used to fabricate stand-alone index-guided vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with oxide apertures for optical transverse mode confinement and electrical current constriction. Ultra-low threshold current densities of around 10 A/cm(2) and room temperature lasing were achieved. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.