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Germany is set to be the first country in the European Union to introduce biometric passports, which will allow airport control devices to detect a small electronic tag concealed inside the passport cover.
The new biometric passport contains a paper-thin computer chip that holds a scan of the passport holder's picture. Developments are also being made for the chip to include fingerprint and iris scans.
German Interior Minister Otto Schily hails the new biometric passport as "a real security bonus."
When passengers have their passports checked at international airport, a device will scan their face while an immigration officer swipes the passport past a control device to check if the information matches.
