The "videopass" is a DVD disk which contains important information about the orphans. There are seven sections: My Documents, My Photo, My Video, About Me, My Achie­vements, My Health, and What I Like. The children themselves, their teachers and doctors all speak on the disk. It can be watched at a simple DVD-player.

Before the video system was created the parents-to-be could only see children's photographs and general information about them.

"Families wishing to adopt a child come to [state social services], where they make and give them a selection of video-records to fit the [future parents'] requirements," Kizyakov said. The parents will see the children face to face just after they choose them by means of the videos.

Sixteen children have already found families within two months after the project was launched, Kizyakov said.

Lidia Antonova, the Moscow Region's education minister, who also attended the conference, said that the "videopassports" are made for children aged 10 years and older.

"We do not make video passports for infants, because they do not need it. The infants are in great demand," Antonova told RIA Novosti.

This year, 200 of the video pass DVDs are to be recorded. Each DVD contains five to six videos.

The Moscow Region plans to put 4,000 orphans in the care of families this year, Antonova said. Last year 3,600 orphans were adopted.

She said also that currently the Family Accompaniment Centers, which help to prepare children and their future parents for adoption, are located at 30 municipal units of the Region.

"Next year we plan to establish such centers all around the Moscow Region," Antonova said.