Passport photographs in the future could be more than just a pretty picture if a new computer technique developed by Israeli scientists catches on. Researchers at Ben-Gurion University have devised a way to hide information such as a fingerprint or a signature in color images which could improve passport security or be used to create invisible product bar codes or designs. "The documents can be faxed, scanned and reprinted without the hidden data disappearing," New Scientist magazine said on Wednesday. A team of scientists created an algorithm that converts a fingerprint or signature into a series of numbers which are used to shift the dots that make up a color picture, without altering the look of the image.