SHANGHAI, Aug. 10 -- CHINESE miners may soon carry a new piece of equipment to work - a card with a built-in chip. And it could save their lives in a mining disaster, as it will make them easy to be found if they are trapped underground.

"The latest technology saves lives, allowing rescuers to pinpoint their location," said Zhang Qi, a senior official at the Ministry of Information Industry.

The system is in trial in Shanxi, Liaoning and Guizhou provinces and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Zhang added.

The technology is called radio frequency identification, or RFID.

The radio technology is used in tracking dangerous chemicals, and in the sectors of food safety, retail, health and logistics in China. Meanwhile, the system is expected to be adopted for tickets to the Beijing Olympics and Shanghai's World Expo in 2010.

RFID is now used more widely, and the government has financed the technology's development with 40 million yuan (US$5.26 million) from its annual electronic budget, according to Zhang.

What is RFID?

RFID provides an effective security check by transmitting a unique serial number through radio waves to identify an object or person. It is grouped under the broad category of automatic identification technologies.

Differing from the traditional bar code systems usually seen in supermarkets, RFID is designed to enable readers to capture data on tags and transmit the information to a computer system without human intervention.

A typical reader has one or more antennas that emit radio waves and receive signals back from the tag. The chip on the tag can store data, including product specifications, manufacturing and shipment dates, and destination and sales information.

Put simply, the technology reduces the amount of time and labor needed to key in data manually and improves data accuracy.

Dangerous Goods

In Shanghai, RFID tags have been installed on more than four million containers carrying dangerous chemicals, and the city aims to put RFID tags on all chemical containers in future, according to Liu Jian, vice director of the Shanghai Municipal Informatization Commission.

Through RFID, people can easily pinpoint the exact location of the containers during transportation. If dangerous gas leaks, RFID enables people to easily identify the chemical and notify authorities.

In Shanghai, the authority has used RFID to regulate the firecracker market to stop unlicensed products, which can maim and even kill.

Food Safety

In Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing and Sichuan Province, RFID is being tested to improve food safety.

RFID tags are put on pigs or cows, carrying information on vaccinations, feedstuff and their environment. It can help track the meat from fields to the slaughter house, through to transport, retail and consumers.

"It is proven to be effective in cases like blue-ear pig disease, as we can easily track where they are from and what the sick pigs eat," said Li Weike, an official at the Ministry of Agriculture.

Some high-end RFID tags can detect the products' temperature, essential during transport of seafood and some drugs, according to Qin Feng, the public sector director in China of Unisys, which is seeking opportunities in the RFID market.

Medical and Health

Shanghai's Xinhua Hospital has adopted RFID systems in the medical care of newborn babies. The tag contains the baby's information and medical history, which allows doctors to work without paper, according to Liu.

RFID also helps authorities to recall drugs if necessary and it improves the hospital's efficiency during peak patient traffic, according to Gao Yanjie, an official at the Ministry of Health.

Other Applications

In the logistics sector, companies can easily track the entire production, shipment and sales cycle.

RFID is popular in the retail industry. Wal-Mart's out-of-stock products have been reduced after the global retail giant adopted RFID in its supply chain management.

China Unicom plans to launch mobile phones with RFID by the end of this year, which can be used to buy low-value goods such as film tickets and canned drinks, said Xu Haixiang, the carrier's marketing manager.

RFID will be used in electronic ticketing systems in Beijing Olympics and the World Expo.

The state public security authority is researching the use of e-passports to prevent terrorists from entering the country.

China's RFID market revenue is expected to hit US$335 million this year and will grow 50 percent annually in three to five years, according to CCW Research, a Beijing-based IT consulting firm.