One of the basic forms of personal identification, the passport, is on the verge of taking on a new, high-tech identity. A number of countries are about to start trials of passports and visas that incorporate biometric information alongside the traditional photo and passport number -- data such as a digital image of the citizen's face that will be compared with a facial scan taken at the airport.

The first country to use the system will probably be Belgium, which plans an e-passport trial later this year. The United Kingdom's passport office said it is looking for volunteers to test the recording and verification of facial recognition, iris and fingerprint biometrics, and New Zealand and Canada are also looking into conducting trials.

The United States and Australia, meanwhile, have issued requests for proposals for trials of their own, and the Netherlands is looking at ways for banks to adopt chip-based documents that would be used to confirm identification.

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Aftermath News
Top Stories - August 23rd, 2004