Monte Carlo simulation method was used to mimic surface damage development caused by short laser pulses. The influence of pulsed laser irradiation on the creation of defect concentration was examined in the case of a model surface. In particular, the dependence of the intact surface area on a number of laser scans was studied and compared with the experimental results obtained for Rh(111) crystal face. Changes in the adsorptive properties of the surface produced by laser irradiation are explained with the help of a simple geometric model connecting the laser intensity and the disordered area generated by a single laser shot. It was demonstrated that exponential decay of the Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) signal with the number of laser scans, which is observed experimentally, may result directly from the overlapping of the laser spits created on the surface. This effect becomes enhanced when the laser intensity, hence the spot size, increase. The importance of laser-induced defects in the kinetics of catalytic/separation processes was examined in the case of temperature programmed desorption (TPD) spectra from surfaces subjected to a different number of laser shots. The spectra were simulated by employing the Monte Carlo method as well as by application of the absolute rate theory (ART) coupled with the mean field approximation. The results obtained with both methods were in a good agreement even when weak lateral interactions in the adsorbed phase were allowed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.