Reuters said it had invested 300 man-years and 10 million pounds ($16.8 million) on its euro conversion programme. It has been conducting rehearsals since the end of October to help ensure a smooth transition.

Some 500 Reuters staff including data specialists, developers and customer support staff will be working around the clock in the 72 hours between the close of markets on December 31 and their re-opening on January 4 to convert data on Reuters systems into the new common European currency.

``It is critical to the success of the euro that financial markets run smoothly after the change-over,'' said the senior Reuters manager Geoffrey Sanderson heading the conversion project.

"Reuters aims to capitalise on its infrastructure and technical resources to ensure it is the informationvendor of choice,'' he added in a statement.