Starting this Spring, "Smart" Chips to be Embedded in Passports.

[mod mom]

STARTING IN SPRING, ELECTRONIC "SMART" CHIPS TO BE EMBEDDED IN PASSPORTS. Might be time to renew!:

Travel to Canada, Mexico is about to change with new passport rules
Updated 1/2/2007 10:05 AM ET

By Roger Yu, USA TODAY
Five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. government is on the verge of implementing security-inspired changes to passports that will affect millions of international travelers.
On Jan. 23, air travelers to and from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean will for the first time need a passport to cross the U.S. border. Starting in the spring, all U.S citizens applying for a passport will get an electronic version that's embedded with a "smart" chip designed to thwart forgery.

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http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2007-01-01-passport_x.htm