As the crow flies, Newry is less than an hour away from Belfast, Northern Ireland's principal city, the centre of local government and the economic hub of the region.

However, on January 1st, 2001, the town of Newry is set to be transported light years away from Belfast to a galaxy called the euro zone.

Retailers and consumers in Belfast will continue to hand over sterling notes and coins during the New Year sales rush but shoppers and businesses in Newry are as likely to be trading with the new euro coins and notes as they are with sterling or the pound.

Newry's unique role as a 21st century Border trading post between Dublin and Belfast is set to create the first unaffiliated euro-friendly town in the United Kingdom.

According to Mr Gerard O'Hare, president of the Newry Chamber of Commerce, the town's historic pound/sterling approach will ensure a smooth transition to the euro next January.

"Newry has been one of the first towns in the North to address the issue of the new currency and we are projecting ourselves as a euro-friendly town.

"Newry has always had to deal with two currencies because of our geographical position and, for us, the euro is just another currency. Our retailers and our manufacturers are well prepared for it. Newry has nothing to fear from the euro," Mr O'Hare said.

He said the majority of retailers and local businesses now have euro-friendly systems in place and will be in a position to start trading in the new currency right from the start.

But it will be a very different picture in Belfast, according to Mr Frank Caddy, chief executive of the Belfast Chamber of Trade. He believes retailers who are euro-friendly will be the exception not the norm.

One of the exceptions is retail giant Marks & Spencer, which has confirmed that it will accept the euro at specific tills in its seven stores in Northern Ireland from January. This service will be extended to all till points from the following month.

But Mr Caddy said shoppers should not expect to find a similar approach from other Belfast retailers.

"I expect most retailers will be fairly pragmatic about the euro and may make arrangements to operate their own exchange rate policy but there is no uniform approach to having euro-systems in place or to operate dual pricing in Belfast," Mr Caddy said.

This take-it-or-leave-it attitude to the euro appears to be mirrored across the North, according to the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce. Its latest survey shows that nearly one-third of its members have not made any preparations for the introduction of the new single currency next January.

Mr John Stringer, the chief executive of the North's largest business body, said it was concerned by the lax approach some companies and businesses have adopted.

"We do believe that some people are not aware of what an impact the euro could have on their day-to-day business dealings.

"A large number of our members are involved in cross-Border trading and, for them, the euro is going to become an essential part of their business.

"Our message to companies in Northern Ireland is, if they haven't already started to plan for the euro, they should do so now," Mr Stringer said.

Latest available figures show that Northern Ireland exports, on average, £700 million sterling (€1,138 million) of services and goods to the Republic each year.

Mr Stringer said the chamber appreciated that there were very mixed views on the single currency in Northern Ireland.

"From a purely economic point of view, there is a strong argument for being in the euro. Our economy is strongly focused on exporting for growth, therefore Northern Ireland exporters would only have one currency to deal with it instead of the myriad of currencies in which they currently have to trade.

"I believe many businesses will see the euro as a new opportunity, particularly when it comes to breaking into new European markets. But there are also people in Northern Ireland who see the euro as a political issue and view it as an issue of independence rather than an economic tool," Mr Stringer added.

The debate over whether Britain will join the euro zone is still raging. The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Gordon Brown has established five economic tests that he believes must be met before any decision can be taken to join the euro.

These include a sustainable convergence between Britain's economy and the economies of the single currency, and whether there is sufficient flexibility to cope with problems if they emerge.

The other three tests ascertain the effect joining the euro zone would have on investment levels in Britain, the impact joining would have on the financial services industry and whether it would increase the number of jobs in Britain.

The Labour government in Britain has promised that the decision to enter the euro will be judged on a public referendum. But Mr Lochlainn Quinn, chairman of AIB, does not believe that the Labour government could make a successful economic case for a referendum at this particular time.

"I don't see the euro as a real problem for Northern Ireland because, after all, it has been dealing with two currencies on the island since 1979. I do not believe it is a significant issue for North/ South trade.

"The real problem for Northern Ireland manufacturers is the strength of sterling and how hard this makes it for them to be competitive," Mr Quinn said.

Intertrade Ireland, the cross-Border body established by the Good Friday Agreement to promote increased trade between North and South, also believes the physical arrival of euro coins and notes will not have a huge impact on businesses in the North.

Mr Dermot O'Doherty, senior adviser with Intertrade Ireland, said euro coins and notes are likely to have more of a "psychological" effect in the North than they are in the South.

"One of the difficulties in Northern Ireland is that people still find it hard to grasp the value of the euro. Whereas in the South there has been a fixed euro/pound rate, in the North the euro/sterling rate has continued to fluctuate.

"If there was a fixed euro/ sterling rate, perhaps people in Northern Ireland could relate to it more easily. As it is, I believe businesses who have established trading relationship with the South are aware of the euro and the impact it will have on their particular company," Mr O'Doherty said.

However Intertrade Ireland believes that general awareness among small to medium-sized businesses could be better. It is a concern shared by the Federation for Small Businesses in the North, which is anxious that not all firms are as fully up to date with the new single currency as they should be at this time.

Mr Glyn Roberts, the Northern Ireland parliamentary officer for the business body, said it had been lobbying politicians at the Northern Ireland Assembly to take a greater lead on the issue.

"We need to have some debate in Northern Ireland about the impact that the euro is going to have, such as whether it will affect cross-Border trade and how companies should be preparing for this changeover.

"In the federation, we are doing as much as we can to brief our members and to advise them on the euro but there needs to be much more done by the Northern Ireland Executive and more resources directed at this key issue at this stage," Mr Roberts added.

The former chairman of the European Preparations Forum in the North, Mr Colm McKenna, acknowledges that, while large firms and key exporters are well briefed on the euro, some smaller players may not be quite up to speed with just seven weeks to go.

The British government established the forum to raise awareness and assist businesses to prepare for the euro. Mr McKenna, who is also head of treasury with Bank of Ireland, is warning companies in the North that the euro cannot be ignored, even at this late stage.

"Any company that exports outside of Northern Ireland to any countries in the euro zone or that purchases raw materials or services in the euro zone is obviously going to be affected straight away.

"If they do not already have a euro bank account, how are they going to get paid or pay for their services?

"Since the euro was introduced, it has simplified trading positions across the euro zone and it is also going to introduce price transparency into the trading equation - also an issue for some companies in Northern Ireland," Mr McKenna said.

He believes many companies in the North can no longer afford to just think in sterling.

"The euro is going to become a global currency and this is going to fundamentally change the relationship sterling has enjoyed with the Irish pound in the past. It will open up new trading opportunities for companies who think about the issues and exploit them," Mr McKenna said.