Governments, too, want to track you

That really is Big Brother beeping you.

Governments on both sides of the Atlantic plan to use radio frequency identification, or RFID technology, to keep track of drivers and tourists.

The US State Department is implementing a plan to have new passports equipped with ultra-thin RFID chips that contain citizens' personal data and a digital photo -- as early as next year. Government officials said the electronically stored information can't be altered, preventing terrorists from gaining entry with counterfeit passports.

Privacy advocates worried the passports could make Americans more vulnerable to attack in foreign countries from, say, terrorists using an RFID reader to detect travelers carrying electronically tagged US passports. In response, the State Department said it would adopt security features to prevent such electronic eavesdropping.

Meanwhile, US border control officials this year started testing similar RFID technology attached to entry documents to track visitors coming to or leaving the country at five crossings with Canada and Mexico.

And in England, transportation officials will soon tag license plates with RFID chips that can be detected 300 feet away by readers stationed along highways. Officials have said little about the experiment, but analysts speculate the government is trying to find counterfeit license plates, a big problem in Britain, or is looking to levy taxes based on highway use.

ANDREW CAFFREY