On the streets, the oldest profession prepares for the newest currency

The prostitutes working the Calle del Desengaño in Madrid's red-light district, a few steps off the Gran Via, were ready.

"Nothing surprises us, cariño. We'll adapt all right," explained Maria, amid hoots of laughter from other working girls huddled on the corner. "I'll be rounding my prices up. Forty euros, that's me from now on. That pays for the bed too." The world's oldest profession last night became the first to handle it's newest currency.

Prostitutes on streets in Madrid, Paris, Berlin and across the euro-zone began working in euros at midnight, hoping to do brisk trade in a new currency amongst new years revellers.

The working girls on the Calle del Desengaño, literally the Street of Disillusion, were among the only people carrying out commercial transactions after Spaniards saw in the new year by swallowing twelve grapes to the chimes of Madrid's city hall clock.

Under Spanish law the prostitutes, and anybody else selling services or goods, were meant to accept payment in pesetas or euros but only give change in euros.

But that was expected to lead to angry discussions with confused or overexcited clients. "It doesn't sound like a good idea to me. We'll face that one when we come to it," said Maria.

Some of the upmarket brothels that advertise in Madrid's newspapers were yesterday already offering their services in both currencies. "We are accepting euros from midnight. We'll take whatever the client has," said Ana, the madame at a club that advertised "select senoritas" in El Pais. She had rounded prices down from 30,000 pesetas to €180.

Taxi drivers, waiters, barmen and shop assistants in all-night supermarkets were the only others handling the new currency at midnight.

"We are giving change in euros as of the first minute of the new year. We have to do it. It is an obligation," said Rodrigo Lasa, an assistant at the all-night shop on Calle O'Donnell.

Spanish shops, and prostitutes, must continue accepting payment in either pesetas or euros until the end of February, when pesetas cease to become legal tender. "We have a special box for the pesetas that we will take to the bank every day," said Mr Lasa.

The store, a popular stop-off for drunks, off-duty cops and the stragglers of the city's hectic nightlife had installed an infra-red detector to weed out forgeries. "We won't be accepting the higher value notes like the 100, 200 or 500 notes. Our limit will be the €50 note," he said.

He was not worried about making calculations in euros. "The till does all that," he said. "I presume it does not cheat." Madrid's taxi drivers were not so well prepared. "I haven't got any euros and I won't give change in them until March," said a defiant taxi driver called Juan.

Others complained that the changeover period was too long. "Why couldn't we just do it in a week or a couple of days? We are bound to get it wrong sometimes. There will be some terrible arguments," said another driver, Enrique.

Madrid's prostitutes, however, had no fears. "Don't worry, most of us are foreign anyway," said Maria. "We're used to different currencies."