LONDON, June 15 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States (US) said on Wednesday it would give 27 mainly European countries an extra year to put computer chips into their passports because many of the countries said they would miss an October 26 deadline.
Speaking at a meeting of Group of Eight (G8) justice and home affairs ministers in Sheffield, northern England, US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced the partial relaxation of the deadline.
The US had set the deadline for allies to update their passports, but many countries said they would miss it, raising theprospect of delays for travellers.
"We want to make sure we have adequate time to get it right butto do it with all possible speed," Chertoff told reporters.
"We are going to continue to adhere to the deadline with respect to photos," he added, saying most countries were confident they could meet it.
The US insisted on the introduction of digital photographs, saying the 27 states, taking part in a visa-free travel scheme, must meet the deadline if they want to ensure their citizens can enter the United States without a visa.
Biometric data such as digital photographs and fingerprints in passports are seen as a key measure in preventing terrorists, illegal migrants and criminals from travelling with fake documents.
The US risked losing billions of dollars spent by tourists and business travellers if it stuck to tight timetable.
Thirteen countries, whose citizens make up about 80 percent of all visa waiver travellers -- between 13 and 15 million travellersa year -- said they would miss the deadline.
Travellers from visa waiver countries may visit the US for 90 days by using only a passport.
The 27 countries in the visa waiver program are Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal,San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Enditem
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