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Monday, 8 April, 2002, 09:59 GMT 10:59 UK
US tightens passport security
The document now features a digitised image
The United States has tightened passport security in the wake of the attacks last September in New York and Washington.
From now on, Americans living abroad will be issued with passports incorporating a digitised image of the holder and other security features.
The documents will be provided by the National Passport Processing Centre in New Hampshire, and not by embassies and consulates abroad as in the past. US representations abroad do not have the technology required to produce the new passports, but they will continue to issue temporary emergency papers. In recent months, security experts have warned that failings in the way passports are issued are as, if not more, important than the security features on travel documents. "The fact that the 11 September people were able to forge Belgian passports shows the weaknesses in the system," said one. However, correspondents say the public may be reluctant to adopt some technologies because of fears about loss of civil liberties and government monitoring.
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