Estonia distributes euro calculators, starter kits

TALLINN - The Estonian government has begun to ship out hundreds of thousands of euro calculators, one for each houshold in the country. 

The euro calculators are simple electronic devices whose only function is to convert Estonian kroons to euros by dividing by approximately 15. Shipments of some of the 561,000 calculators began on Friday. Some politicians have been critical of the move, which will cost the state more than 300,000 euros, as a needless expense.

"Why does the Republic of Estonia have to manufacture trash?" said independent Estonian MEP Indrek Tarand.

Estonia is due to enter the eurozone by adopting the common currency as of Jan. 1 next year.

MONEYBAGS

The central bank, meanwhile, has announced that it will sell euro "starter packs" that contain a small amount of the currency.

The small bags contain a small amount of the new euro coins, giving people the chance to "get used to them" before the official changeover, a press release said.

The starter kit consists of 42 euro coins worth 12.79 euro.They can be purchased for 200 kroons as of Dec. 1, but will not be valid until 2011.