Plasmonic resonances in In-enriched nano-particles, spontaneously formed during growth, can dramatically modify optical properties of InN. Experimental support for this is provided from detailed studies of absorption and infrared emission in InN. In particular, thermally detected optical absorption and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy reveal a peak below the region of strong absorption in InN. A higher-energy part of the infrared emission having a noticeable p-polarization is markedly enhanced with excitation along the surface. These peculiarities are discussed in terms of the Mie resonances, arising in metallic spheroids with different aspect ratio, and their coupling with recombining states, whose strength depends on energy separation between the states and the resonances. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.