Nanoscale wires of silicon oxide, and silicon oxide with embedded gold-silicide nanospheres, are synthesized by heating of a gold-coated silicon wafer at temperatures of 1000 degrees C or above, with the resulting wires having diameters ranging from 30 to 150 nm and lengths of approximately 1 mm. This simple fabrication process should make possible economical bulk production of nanowires. Studies indicate that the growth of these gold-silica composite nanowires occurs directly on the silicon wafer by a solid-liquid-solid mechanism.