By Chris Summers BBC News Online, in Torremolinos

Every year 10 million Britons come to Spain for their holidays.

This year they have noticed one significant difference - the peseta has been replaced by the euro.

The Downing Street spin doctors considering a referendum will be taking great interest in the views of Britons who have chosen to take their summer holidays in Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Portugal or one of the seven other countries which make up euroland.

The Readys: Enthusiastically pro-euro

Bob Ready and his wife Joan, from Liverpool, are regulars on the Costa Del Sol and are all in favour of the euro - which equates to roughly 64p.

Mr Ready, a retired driver, told BBC News Online: "We should be in it, definitely. We should all be the same. We might as well not be in Europe if we are not going to join the euro."

The couple came to Torremolinos on holiday in January and noticed the Spanish were struggling to get to grips with the new currency.

But Mrs Ready said everybody now seemed used to it, and she drew a comparison with decimalisation in the UK in the 1970s.

People thought [decimalisation] would confuse us all, but we're used to it now

Joan Ready

"People thought that would confuse us all, but we're used to it now," she said.

Mr Ready said he thought those countries which had not joined the euro were "fools" and he said the government should join now, without waiting for a referendum.

"Too many people are against it and they will just vote no," he said.

The Readys said they had not noticed any price increases - if anything, things were cheaper.

Mr Ready said if the UK adopted the euro it would throw into sharp contrast the prices charged in the UK and the rest of Europe for alcohol, tobacco and petrol.

'Not a big thing'

The Higgins family from Ballyclare, County Antrim, has found it easier to calculate prices in euros.

Stephen Higgins, an electrician, his wife Cathleen, a factory worker, and their sons, Marc, 16, and Scott, 12, said sums with the peseta often ran into thousands.

The British are special - they drive on the left, they have the pound, they're just different

Shopkeeper Alonso Jiminez

Mrs Higgins has also been able to use up some left-over euros she had from a shopping trip to Dublin earlier this year.

But their positive experience with the euro has not necessarily changed their view of the pound.

Mrs Higgins said if it came to a referendum: "I would rather keep sterling, but that's just out of laziness."

Her husband said: "I wouldn't like to change either. I wouldn't vote for the euro."

But Marc, who will soon be old enough to vote, said he would be in favour of the euro and added: "To me it's not really a big thing."

Mr Higgins said his view might change over time and he said: "I'd like to give it a few years to see if it's a good idea."

He said he believed the government was right not to have joined straight away, and he added: "Tony Blair knows the public doesn't want to join the euro but he is waiting for public opinion to change."

'Confused'

James Wilcox, 21, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and his 17-year-old girlfriend Sam Jagger have different opinions on the euro.

Some couples are split on the single currency

He said: "I would vote for change. It's the way of the world and at least there would be no faffing about changing money."

But she said: "I would leave it the same. Keeping the pound helps to keep our Britishness."

At least 80,000 Britons live on the Costa Del Sol and they have been living with the euro day in, day out, for nearly seven months.

Richard Wood, 60, moved here with his wife in 1997 and opened a restaurant, The Vines, in Estepona, near Marbella.

Originally from East Sussex, he lived in France for six years before coming to Spain and has recently been joined here by his daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren.

Mr Wood said: "Where the euro has confused us and many other people is the fact that you can't gauge its value.

"With a national currency you can see that a bottle of wine is 1,000 pesetas and know that is roughly �4. But it's difficult with the euro because what do you compare it to?"

'Prices up'

He believes prices, especially for groceries and everyday items, have risen by 12-15% in Spain since the advent of the euro.

The pound, along with the dollar and yen, are currencies with real credibility

Richard Wood

Mr Wood said most Spaniards were still thinking in pesetas.

"I went to a car showroom the other day and the salesman said 'the prices are in euros but I still work things out in pesetas in my head'."

Mr Wood said he had no desire to move back to England, but he believed Britain should hold on to the pound.

"I would not want the pound to go. Most English people who come in to my restaurant feel the same. The pound, along with the dollar and yen, are currencies with real credibility."

He said many of his German customers, while they had accepted the euro, were still envious of Britain for retaining the pound.

Alonso Jiminez, who runs a tobacco shop on the seafront at Torremolinos, said: "The euro has been good for me.

"But the British are special - they drive on the left, they have the pound, they're just different from the rest of Europe. I can't see them changing from the pound to the euro."