the police state wont let you smile on your internal passport Original Article Smiling pictures now frowned on for Brits' passports By Shelley Emling COX NEWS SERVICE LONDON - Remove your glasses and don't raise your eyebrows. Pin back the hair from your face and take off your head covering. Most important, keep that stiff upper lip. In other words, don't smile. Why? Ongoing concerns over terrorism since Sept. 11, 2001, have pushed Britain to implement new guidelines that take effect Monday for passport pictures. They are made necessary by biometrics - a technology increasingly being turned to as a way of fighting fraud and bolstering security. The U.K. Passport Service plans to introduce the biometric passports early next year. Each will contain a chip storing a biometric of a facial image that's obtained by scanning the applicant's photo. "The photo can't be scanned properly if a person is smiling," said Peter Wilson, a spokesman for the passport service. He said an applicant must display "a neutral expression" and pose against an off-white, cream or light gray background. Only head coverings worn for religious or medical reasons will be allowed. "The standards will allow passports to be read by border control equipment so that automated controls at international borders are faster but more secure," said Bernard Herdan, chief executive of the passport service. The British media have mostly poked fun at the idea of banning smiles. The Daily Mirror newspaper grumbled that approved pictures look too much like police mug shots. But so far, few citizens appear to be balking at the new guidelines. "They will do what they have to do to tighten security," said Carol Waldeck, a mother of two. "And big, smiling faces don't really look like a lot of the people I see traveling at the airport these days." In the United States, State Department officials plan to start issuing high-tech electronic passports as early as December. The new passport will contain a small computer chip holding a digital photo plus other information such as the owner's name, gender and date of birth. By October 2006, all U.S. passport agencies will issue the electronic passports. These new passports will look about the same but will be a bit thicker. They also are likely to cost about $12 more than the old passports. U.S. officials also frown on toothy smiles for passport photos, though the State Department's Web site does not officially outlaw grins. The U.S. guidelines stipulate that photos must have been taken within the last six months and that applicants can't wear hats or headgear that obscures the hair or hairline. In Britain, by 2008 the UK Passport Service hopes fingerprint identification will be implemented in passports. And a bill currently before Parliament and backed by Prime Minister Tony Blair would create a national ID smart card storing up to three biometric identifiers - fingerprint, iris pattern, and digital face measurements.