The problem is the new European currency - or at least its symbol. Accountancy firm KPMG says the euro, which will take its place alongside other currencies in 1999, will cost Europe's biggest companies nearly $50bn as they are forced to update all their computer systems to deal the new currency.

Market research firm, The Gartner Group, predicts it could cost between $150 and $750 (£90 and £450) for companies to make their PCs "euro-enabled".

"I feel that British business is grossly underestimating the cost of adapting to life with the euro," said Grant Phillips of Barclays, which commissioned the survey.

Underestimate is an understatement. A survey of 200 UK companies indicated that nearly one quarter of them believed that adapting for the euro would cost them nothing.

Computer makers are only now waking up to the challenge. Compaq Computer, one of the world's largest PC makers, has just launched its first range of computers supporting the new euro symbol. Microsoft also announced its support for the new currency at the end of April.

On the new keyboards, the euro symbol will take its place beside the dollar sign. But for those with old-style keyboards, it will be some time before the euro symbol will be as easy to print or display as the ubiquitous $.

Users with Microsoft Windows (ie: most people) will need to install a software update. Then to type the euro symbol, they will have to hit the little-used "alt gr" key (the grey key to the right of your space bar) and 4.

To display properly on screen, the euro symbol will have to be added to the font you are using. Microsoft will initially be adding it to the three most popular fonts - Ariel, Times Roman and Courier. If a user chooses another fonts, he will have to switch to one of those three first, then press the euro key, then switch back.

And the troubles do not end there if users have an old printer or operating system. "Euro-ised" printers must support downloadable fonts or users will have to jump through further hoops to print. Even then, the results may be slow to print and ugly.

Around one-third of Windows users across the world do not use Windows 95 or NT. If they want to display the euro symbol on their screens, they will need to upgrade or look for a company which will sell them a solution. Microsoft does not intend to support the Euro for DOS or its earlier versions of Windows.