Vietnam allocates $20m on Y2K bug

Vietnam allocates $20m on Y2K bug

HANOI (AFP): Vietnam expects to spend between US$10 and 20 million to forestall the "Y2K bug", an official from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment said on Tuesday.

Nguyen Hong Van said a committee established by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai to study the millennium bug held its first meeting last week.

The committee will direct a framework project as part of a national plan against the bug, with priority placed on using Vietnamese technicians. Foreign experts will be only used as a last resort, she said.

The millennium bug could paralyze computers which only recognize the last two digits of the year. In the year 2000, unmodified equipment would register the year as 1900.