WITH the somewhat rash declaration of having achieved "an international technological breakthrough in counterfeit detection" a British printing company this week announced a new initiative to bamboozle all those paper-obsessed individuals in smoke-filled rooms. The high-tech innovation has nothing to do with election counts or the nuances of pin pricks on ballot papers but is aimed at outwitting banknote forgers, centring on the tiny metal strip running through notes.

The system, devised by the giant De La Rue banknote printing company, represents a shift away from concentration inks, watermarks and special types on paper, focusing instead on cramming a wealth of machine-readable features into a more sophisticated security thread. De La Rue says its system comprises a combination of metallic, magnetic and luminescent materials, recognisable by machines which handle money, everything from car park tickets machines to high-speed banknote sorting equipment. Maybe, maybe not, given the ability of criminal but technically proficient alternative banknote suppliers to quickly match new technology.