Companies who manufacture biometric security systems are going to make a fortune by 2012, reports Dubai-based bi-me.com.

The magazine claims that government identity management programmes, criminal ID and surveillance and private sector initiatives such as employee ID mean that the industry is going to be worth more than US $7 billion a year by 2012. The fact that the Intersec trade fair will have more than 30 companies showcasing biometrics products is cited as evidence of a growing industry.

Fingerprint recognition is by far the biggest biometric security product, followed by facial recognition. The next biggest is iris recognition. Asia and the Middle East region is the main focus for many of the fledgeling biometric companies, the magazine reports.

According to a Unisys global survey more than two-thirds of people would be willing to undergo fingerprint scans to verify their identities when dealing with banks and government organisations. While people still prefer using personal passwords, fingerprint scans are ranked only a single percentage point less popular that the traditional PIN.

Fingerprint scans are the most trusted form of biometric identification, ahead of facial scans at 44 per cent, and scanning blood vessels in the hand, at 38 per cent.

Those in Malaysia and Australia were the most accepting of the technology. More than three quarters of UK respondents would accept fingerprint scanning, compared to 72 per cent of Americans. X

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