Sweden plans to fit specially adapted breathalysers to the cars of anyone convicted of drink driving.

The machines are linked up to the vehicle's ignition so that if the driver tries going anywhere with too much alcohol on his breath, the car does not start.

Sweden has been testing the special devices on convicted drink drivers in three counties.

Industry and Commerce Minister Bjorn Rosengren said on Tuesday that he wanted the scheme extended across the whole of Sweden.

He said the "alcohol safety interlock devices" contained a meter which measures the alcohol in the air exhaled by the driver before the car can be started.

Strict regimes

Sweden already has one of the strictest regimes against drink driving.

Its legal limit for driving is 20 mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, a quarter of the level in Britain.

At present, the punishment for drink driving is a fine or imprisonment for up to six months.

The Swedish government says its objective is to make its roads so safe there are no more fatal accidents.

In 1999, the latest figures available, 570 people were killed on Sweden's roads, compared to more than 5,000 in Spain.