Italy strains in euro conversion

Italy is struggling to embrace the euro as long queues form outside banks, stations and post offices, with citizens complaining about a shortage of coins.

At Rome's central station, many missed their trains as the queue to buy tickets delayed people by up to one and a half hours.

Ticket machines were not functioning and travel agents were unable to issue tickets because of computer failure

Pressure has been building on the government - one Italian newspaper’s front page said: "Italy works little and badly".

An EU commission spokesman said that it was not surprising that Italy was so far behind, since fewer cash dispensers were converted ahead of the changeover and many businesses chose not to receive euro in advance.

In Brussels, the European Commission said only 3% of Italy's cash transactions on January 2 were in euro, the lowest in the eurozone, with France and the Netherlands at the top with 50% and the average at 20 percent.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's office tried to calm nerves by issuing a statement which hailed the creation of the euro but Italian Foreign Minister, Renato Ruggiero attacked cabinet colleagues for belittling the ambitious project.

The Italian Banking Association said cash machine transactions were up 50% on Wednesday from the same day last year, but that was still far below the rest of the euro zone where activity was up by 200-300%.