"E-passport" debuts in Colorado
By Bruce Finley Denver Post Staff Writer

The federal government Monday rolled out new electronic passports embedded with radio microchips holding personal data - starting in Colorado.

State Department officials plan to issue millions of the thicker, redesigned blue "e-passports" nationwide by year's end. They say these will speed security checks and thwart forgers who could use fake documents to hurt the United States.

Privacy advocates questioned the necessity, warning that personal data could be skimmed.

But the first travelers granted new passports - at the State Department's new Colorado Passport Agency north of Cherry Creek Reservoir - reluctantly embraced the idea. the rest