Italy Poised To Roll Out Chip-Based ID Cards

http://www.eventshome.com/Manual/manualpage.asp?manualId=2653&type=6&parentId=5428&eventId=7145#Bulletin8

The Italian government plans to start a rollout of chip-based citizen ID cards in 2002, following pilots in about 100 cities and towns, according to reports.

Public Administration Minister Franco Bassanini earlier this month reportedly confirmed the Italian government planned to go ahead with the smart card project, which would replace paper ID cards Italian citizens carry.

The cards will not only store citizenship data, which cardholders
will use to do business with municipalities and federal agencies, but are also expected to absorb Italy's nascent chip-based health card. It means the ID would also store insurance and some medical information, say potential vendors on the project.

Card readers are to be installed at public offices and in mobile units, such as police vehicles. Later, the cards likely would also store digital certificates, which would allow citizens to digitally sign government documents on the Internet.

Besides the chips, the ID cards being tested also carry about 1 megabyte of optical memory, which store digitized versions of cardholder photographs on the front of the cards. This memory could also store other large files, including digitized fingerprints.

About 100,000 cards are in the field, but at present are little used, sources tell Card Technology. (2/15)

News item from

http://www.ct-ctst.com/
aka Card Technology News

-----