Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced yesterday that Washington had agreed to delay plans requiring 27 countries to place computer chips in their passports as a prerequisite for allowing their citizens into the US without a visa. Washington had said that all European Union passports issued after Oct. 26 must have biometric security elements — fingerprints and iris scan — included on a microchip or passport holders will require a visa to enter the U.S. Gonzales made the announcement in Europe where he is attending the G8 meeting of ministers. He did not say how much extra time countries would be given.