The Office of the e-Envoy has published its proposals for governing public sector use of smartcards.

The policy is intended to cover all manner of smartcards, such as travel passes or library cards, but will also have ramifications for the government's plans for a national ID card.

Smartcards include a computer chip and memory that stores information about you, such as financial details on a credit card that makes it more difficult for criminals to use them if they are stolen.

Government plans for a national identity card propose that some form of biometric data - a digital recording of a unique feature such as a fingerprint or iris scan - be stored on the smart chip.

The proposals say that smartcards should be based on the same technology so that people can use the same card to access a range of government services. Confidentiality of data stored on chips and strict rules governing who can access what kinds of data are also high on the priority list.

But Information Commissioner Richard Thomas, who is responsible for data protection, has already spoken of his concerns over plans for a national ID card.

Mr Thomas highlighted the issue of data accuracy and the danger of ID theft as major stumbling blocks towards developing a national scheme.

Views are currently being sought on the proposals, and responses can be submitted up to the end of October. Click here for more details.