To enter his laboratory at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute here, Douglas Melton must use a special key card that electronically checks his identity.

Every day, millions of checked bags are now opened for inspection at the airport, while millions more are left unopened but checked electronically for possible explosives.

The computer programs consumers are using, called shopping bots, monitor online retailers by electronically checking their stores every second or two to see if any PlayStations have been offered.

A clerk had entered information from a one-page loan application into a computer, checked the firm's deposit balances with the bank and electronically checked the owner's personal and business credit files.

In 2001 and 2004, preferences shown on paper ballots were data-entered by two independent operators, electronically checked for errors, and manually corrected if required.

With a tone of resignation, Michael Howard, the president of Emery & Howard Portfolio Management in Burlingame, Calif., said his firm was preparing to grant clients the ability to electronically check on their accounts whenever and as often as they choose.

The Star Wars devices can store your fingerprint on a microchip or electronically check the way you sign your name.

I had it electronically checked early this morning.

Then he pulled open the right-hand drawer and extracted a second phone, a phone carefully maintained and checked electronically for any additional resistance or interference.

You also want a system where, when a lorry-load of sheep drives into a market, in ideal circumstances, you want to be able to electronically check every sheep that is in that lorry.