Germans to get biometric passports.

09 Nov, 2005

Biometric passports have already been introduced in the United States and Canada and the member states of the European Union have agreed to use the new system in Europe in an effort to fight terrorism. Germany is now the first country to introduce electronic passports called the e-pass. The special feature is a tiny computer chip that contains the travellers details and photograph. Customs officials will be able to download all the personal data on the e-pass with a special reader. The chip will also have two digital fingerprints. These passports will be difficult to alter and forge but they will still only be valid for ten years. The data in the chip is encrypted so that if the e-pass is stolen it will be difficult for personal information to fall into the wrong hands.