But those who are eager to be pioneers in Europe's brave new monetary world will be able to experiment with a variety of transactions in euros once they recover from their New Year celebrations.

Those transactions include bank accounts, bank transfers, mortgages, credit card payments, traveller's cheques, personal cheques -- just about anything, that is, that doesn't involve cash.

Belgian banks, often in the vanguard in banking matters, have even announced that consumers can get the Proton prepaid electronic payment card -- used generally for inexpensive purchases such as phone calls -- in euros in 1999.

The number of merchants who will accept euro payments is likely to be small at first, with the percentage growing as consumers become more comfortable with the new currency.

Director Jim Murray of theEuropean Consumers' Organisation (BEUC) in Brussels, is one of the adventurous ones. He said he has already asked his bank to open a euro account for him, joking that he wanted to be a ``leader of fashion.''

``(I wanted to) start the process, to get into it early,'' he said.

However, he said others should not feel pressured to follow suit. ``Because there's a transition period, it's something people can be relaxed about, at least at the beginning.''

The EU has decided to introduce the single currency in stages to avoid an abrupt switchover. Eleven countries -- Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain -- will launch the euro on New Year's Day.

But they will not ditch their own currencies until mid-2002. Euro notes and coins will be issued from January 1 of that year.

During the transition period, euro zone residents will find a growing number of chances to try out the new currency.

For example, Bass Hotels & Resorts, saying it was``ahead of the game,'' announced in September it would allow guests at more than 300 Inter-Continental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels to pay in euros from January 1.

It said they could make credit card or other electronic payments or use ``eurocheques,'' the system that already allows Europeans to write cheques in multiple currencies.

Leader of Bass's euro steering committee, Ian Graham said the move responds partly to demand from corporate customers -- such as the German electronics giant Siemens -- which have announced they would prefer to be billed in euros in the next fiscal year.

``We can steal a March on a competitor that hasn't prepared as fully,'' he said.

Experts say it is difficult to predict how many companies will follow Bass's example. But director of Visa International's single currency unit, Hasan Alemdar said the numbers are likely to be higher initially in areas that are major travel destinations and in countries such as France and Spain where the banking infrastructure iscentralised.

Based on a quick survey of banks in July, Europay International estimates that about 10 per cent of merchants will begin accepting euro payments in 1999, with an additional 40 per cent signing on in 2000 said the company's euro programme coordinator, Dominique Bichut.

Europay operates the Eurocard-MasterCard, Maestro, Cirrus and eurocheque payment systems, all of which will offer the euro option from January 1.

The consumers who are most likely to dip into the new currency are those who do a lot of travelling, experts say. ``When they get their statement, they can see what they paid in one currency instead of 11 different currencies,'' Alemdar said.

Visa, the Thomas Cook Group and American Express are among companies that will be offering traveller's cheques denominated in euros from January 1. Officials said the option should appeal to individuals who are travelling to several euro zone countries and want to carry only one set of cheques.

Customers from outside the euro zone -- say,from Britain or the United States -- might also `refer euros to sterling or dollars because they will not have to worry about exchange rate fluctuations, they said.

During the transition period, the exchange rates between the 11 participating currencies -- and between them and the euro -- will be fixed. That will make it easier for travellers to know exactly how much they are spending and to avoid getting ripped off when they change their money.

Consumers who want to use the new currency will get some guidance from logos declaring ``We accept payment in euros'' in one of eight languages -- an initiative of the European Commission, the EU's executive body. Shopkeepers who display the logo have agreed to abide by six principles for dual pricing.

For example, they will not charge a fee if a consumer decides to pay in euros and will follow rules for rounding out conversions into euros.

Economic adviser in charge of the euro for the retail federation EuroCommerce, Ceu Pereira said use of the logo willvary. German retail and consumer associations, for example, have decided to follow the principles but forgo the logo, she said.

Pereira said she expects to be one of the slow ones. ``I must confess that at the beginning I may not even look at (euro prices),'' she said. ``I'm probably going to wait until 2001.''

Until 2002, euro zone residents will be able to do their banking in either euros or their national currencies. Major European banking groups have agreed to follow a code of good practice during that time, pledging not to charge customers for switching accounts from national currencies to euros or to convert payments from one currency to the other.

They also agreed not to charge special fees for services denominated in euros. Because the exchange rate risk will disappear, banks will no longer charge commissions for converting one euro zone currency to another, though they may charge handling fees.

But banking officials said consumers should not necessarily switch over until it makes sense --for example when they start getting paid in euros.

``I am quite convinced that once the euro is adopted by major companies, then smaller companies, automatically the consumer will do the changeover,'' said, euro spokesman Leo Verhoeven for Belgian financial group KBC Bankassurance.