Moroccan records progress on Y2K bug

Moroccan Prime Minister, Abderrahmane Youssoufi, chaired Monday here an experts' meeting on the effects of the Y2K computer software bug.

"Our objective is clear. We have to take measures that guarantee the security of persons and ensure the normal functioning of the basic services of energy, telecommunications, water, transport and security," Youssoufi said during the meeting.

Moroccan Secretary of state for posts and new information technologies, Larbi Ajjoul, said Morocco is recording tangible progress in modernizing its systems in most sectors.

Morocco set up last year a national committee to ponder on means to avoid the adverse impacts of the computer bug. The committee is focusing attention on national institutions, major firms and a sample of small and medium enterprises.

January 1st, 2000 risks to be a dark Saturday, as the world will wake up on a computer apocalypse that will spare no sector of activity except in the countries that would have re-programmed their artificial intelligence.

Millions of computers -some of which are central to running financial markets, air-traffic control systems and even elevators in office buildings- do not distinguish between the year 1900 and the year 2000 because an old programming practice expressed years in two digits.

As the year 2000 gets closer, this "bug" is attracting high-level attention in both government offices and corporate boardrooms around the world.