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Drexler to Provide LaserCard Motor Vehicle Registration Cards

30 August 2000

Drexler Technology to Provide LaserCard Motor Vehicle Registration Cards in South Asia

    MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Aug. 30, 2000--Drexler Technology Corporation today disclosed details of a LaserCard(R) supply contract to provide Drexler's "chip ready" optical memory cards to a systems integration company for use as high security smart/optical motor vehicle registration cards by a regional government in South Asia.
    The smart/optical vehicle registration ID card will inhibit the theft of motor vehicles since counterfeit copies of a custom-encoded vehicle registration ID card would be virtually unobtainable. Also, operators of commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks will no longer be able to make fraudulent copies of motor vehicle registration documents so as to avoid annual vehicle registration fees.
    Drexler Technology has received from the systems integration company several non-refundable advance payments since June, now totaling approximately $1 million, representing initial payments in connection with anticipated purchases of LaserCard(R) optical memory cards for this motor vehicle ID card program.
    The "chip ready" optical memory cards contain a 16-millimeter wide optical memory stripe which stores over one megabyte of data. Information about the motor vehicle would be securely recorded by the issuer onto the optical memory stripe and can be updated -- but cannot be altered, tampered with, or deleted -- providing a counterfeit-resistant, secure card. A semiconductor memory chip is added onto the optical memory card by another vendor, creating a smart/optical card. The chip stores data about the motor vehicle and can be read by a portable reader carried by law enforcement officers. The optical memory stripe stores nonerasable data about the motor vehicle.
    Other governments also have shown interest in the optical memory card. The Government of Italy recently announced plans to introduce a new national ID card incorporating both an optical memory stripe and a semiconductor chip. The Government of Canada recently selected optical memory card technology for both its immigration ID card and passport ID card programs. Also, the United States Government has purchased over 10 million optical memory cards from Drexler Technology for its immigration card and border crossing applications and has recently placed additional card orders.