High-tech record storage. (Up front: news, trends & analysis).

It's not science fiction. Soon, records containing personal information about an individual may be stored on a CD or a computer chip, which may be implanted under the skin.

Applied Digital Solutions recently began a program to implant subdermal microchips based on the same radio-frequency identification technology used in E-ZPass cards. The chip, called the VeriChip, is the size of a grain of rice and carries a number that identifies an individual. The company says it may eventually provide a way to ensure that only the "right" people gain access to secure sites, corporate offices, or personal computers. The chip also could contain personal data such as medical information. Implantable microchips have already been used over the past few years to track pets.

Another prospect is J. Craig Venter's plan to decode individuals' genomes, with the goal of burning individual humans' entire DNA sequences onto compact discs. It will cost about $500,000 per person, but Venter, the former head of genomics pioneer Celera, said he hopes to mass-produce gene CDs that will be stocked on the shelves of every general practitioner's office and be covered by insurance. Venter said this would allow doctors to better treat and prevent diseases. But it also would present many thorny privacy issues for which there are no easy answers.