US issues e-passports designed to improve security,facilitate trav

Washington, Aug 15 (UNI) The US State Department has begun issuing electronic passports to the public as a step forward in the ongoing programme to enhance border security and to facilitate travel.

The new generation passport incorporates biometric technology and a computer chip that contains the same data as those found on the biographic data page of the passport.

These data include name, gender, date and place of birth, and the passport's dates of issue and expiration. The chip also includes a digital image of the bearer's photograph.

The document is scanned by border officials when the bearer presents it and the data in the document are matched against that stored away in databases. Its design is also intended to defy forgery and falsification.

State Department Consular Affairs spokeswoman Laura Tischler said on the beginning of the issue of the passports yesterday that the United States is leading global efforts to ensure the e-passport ''is a secure, globally inter-operable document that meets (international) standards.'' The International Civil Aviation Organization has devised standards for the making of passports in the digital age and most nations now are redesigning their documents to comply with that standard.

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