WASHINGTON, May 4 (Xinhuanet) -- The US government plans to begin collecting the full names and birth dates of air travelers this summer in its latest effort to screen passengers for possible links to terrorism, the USA Today newspaper reported Wednesday.

    The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will notify airlines, travel agents and on-line reservation systems in a few weeks that they will be required to ask travelers for their legal names and birth dates when booking domestic flights, the report said.

    Travelers will be encouraged -- but not required -- to give their personal information. Under the current system, only a last name and first initial are needed to reserve a flight.

    Passengers who don't comply with the request will dramatically increase their chances of being stopped at airports for questioning or pat-downs, TSA Assistant Administrator Justin Oberman said.

    The program, "Secure Flight," is getting a 60-day test run starting in August, and two airlines, expected to be named within a week, will begin transmitting passengers' full names and birth dates to the TSA for comparison with a terrorist watch list. Other domestic airlines will follow over the next 18 months, according to Oberman.

    The TSA killed a program last summer known as "CAPPS II" amid concerns that it was too intrusive. The program, launched after terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001, was designed to collect personal data on airline passengers but was never fully tested. Enditem