An identity document (also known as I.D. or ID) is a piece of documentation designed to verify aspects of a person's identity. If an identity document is in the form of a small standard-sized card, such as an ISO 7810 card, it is called an identity card. What the identity document might include. Polish national ID card (front and back)Information present on the document — or in a supporting database — might include the bearer's full name, a portrait photo, age or birth date, address, an identification number, profession or rank, restrictions, and citizenship status. New technologies could allow identity cards to contain biometric information, such as photographs, face, hand or iris measurements, or fingerprints. Electronic identity cards or e-IDs are already available in some countries such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Estonia, Belgium or Spain. Morocco is also planning to launch a new identity card of biometric type by January 2007. Identity Document From Wikipedia

Countries with compulsory identity cards. According to Privacy International, as of 1996, around 100 countries had compulsory identity cards. They also stated that "virtually no common law country has a card". The term "compulsory" may have different meanings and implications in different countries. The compulsory character may apply only after a certain age. Often, a ticket can be given for being found without one's identification document, or in some cases a person may even be detained until the identity is ascertained. In practice, random controls are rare, except in police states. List of identity card policies by country From Wikipedia

A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit(s) card (ICC), is defined as any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. Although there is a diverse range of applications, there are two broad categories of ICCs. Memory cards contain only non-volatile memory storage components, and perhaps some specific security logic. Microprocessor cards contain memory and microprocessor components. Smart Cards From Wikipedia

What is a smart card? A smart card resembles a credit card in size and shape, but inside it is completely different. First of all, it has an inside -- a normal credit card is a simple piece of plastic. The inside of a smart card usually contains an embedded microprocessor. The microprocessor is under a gold contact pad on one side of the card. Think of the microprocessor as replacing the usual magnetic stripe on a credit card or debit card. Smart cards are much more popular in Europe than in the United States. In Europe, the health insurance and banking industries use smart cards extensively. Every German citizen has a smart card for health insurance. Even though smart cards have been around in their modern form for at least a decade, they are just starting to take off in the United States. What is a smart card? How Stuff Works

Tired of all that time-consuming swiping? Credit cards using "contactless" technology allow users to pay for merchandise by holding the card near a special reader instead of swiping it or handing it to a clerk. The announcement of new "blink" cards by JPMorgan Chase & Co. marks the first push to introduce the cards to U.S. consumers on a wide scale. This technology is already in use to some extent in Europe and Asia. How Blink Technology Works How Stuff Works

British national identity card. Enabling legislation for the British national identity card was passed under the Identity Cards Act 2006. The multi-billion pound scheme has yet to enter procurement. The cards will have a lesser role than the database they are linked to, which is known as the National Identity Register (NIR). The Act specifies fifty categories of information that the NIR can hold on each citizen [3], including up to 10 fingerprints, digitised facial scan and iris scan, current and past UK and overseas places of residence of all residents of the UK throughout their lives and indexes to other Government databases - which would allow them to be connected. The legislation also says that any further information can be added. British national identity card From Wikipedia