With the attempt at increasing security worldwide, government and companies are turning to technology as a means of identifying people.

But as two stories last week show technology is only part of the answer and has not so far developed to the required level of certainty that would be required to ensure identification all of the time. Tsutomu Matsumoto, a Japanese cryptographer at the University of Yokohama, showed that by using $10 worth of household ingredients a determined person could fool biometric fingerprint detectors. Such a system attempts to identify people based on their fingerprint.

Matsumoto made a mould of a person's finger using a plastic kit bought at a hobby shop. He then made a fake finger using gelatine, the stuff that's sold in grocery stores. Matsumoto and his researchers went further by showing how easy it was to take a copy of a fingerprint left on a piece of glass and turn it into a three-dimensional fake finger mould using a digital camera, some computer manipulation, and some clever but apparently simple techniques to makes a gelatine finger.

The fake finger fooled detectors about 80% of the time, according to security expert Bruce Schneier, who first reported on Matsumoto's paper "Impact of Artificial Gummy Fingers on Fingerprint Systems". Schneier's security newsletter, Crypto-Gram, gives details of the techniques and is available at www.counterpane.com.

Another report, by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), revealed that face recognition technology is ineffective according to tests done at the Palm Beach International Airport. The system failed to match volunteer employees 503 out of 958 times, or 53% of the time, according to documents obtained by the ACLU under Florida's information laws.

Airport officials also noted other problems with the system including those resulting when subjects were wearing glasses, or if the subject did not line up correctly with the imaging camera.

The subject also had to be perfectly still. A high number of false alarms could cause more problems than the system attempts to solve, the officials noted. Until these technologies are developed further it is back to the basics for airports and other places that need to ensure identity. The problem of installing such systems is the false sense of security they engender. While they may be useful as one means of controlling access, they cannot be the primary means. Security guards can rest easy for a while.

Do you think of yourself as some sort of answer demon? Well the Google search engine has just the sort of job for you. The search engine has launched Google Answers service, which allows people to pose questions and how much they are willing to pay for the answers. Then humans do the searching and produce the information and useful links to web pages on the topic.

If you're satisfied with that answer, you pay the amount you specified. The amount you specify determines how quickly your question gets answered. If you're not satisfied with the answer you can apply for a refund, and give the answer a poor rating.

Other unpaid researchers can add their comments to the answer given by the researcher who claims the question. Google's paid researchers work on a freelance basis, getting a cut from the sums paid by the people who pose questions.

Apparently anyone can become a researcher, once they've passed a few tests by Google. The people who pose the questions then rate them. If their rating falls below a certain level or the researcher has several returned questions, Google kicks them out from receiving fees for their answer. Some people seem to be willing to pay for answers that would seem to be easily available. On the site one woman in New Zealand paid $6 to ask ""How soon am I able to tell if I am pregnant? When do most people get morning sickness?" Lady, go ask a doctor! One unanswered question on there is a person looking for "unbiased assessments or information on the success rate of the Egoscue Method". The person has put in a $20 bid for the answer. Another person has put in a $50 bid to discover how to buy defective "electrical stuff" from Costco to repair and sell back in Washington State. Many of the questions are on fixing computer problems, so any techies out there can earn some beer money on the sly by registering as a researcher.

Get ready for the ".pro" suffix Internet domain rush, this time from professionals such as lawyers, physicians and accountants. The suffix for Web addresses is due to become available soon and is reserved exclusively for certified professionals. New York-based RegistryPro Ltd. has the contract to register the ".pro" domains (www.registrypro.com).